29-05-2025
Casey DeSantis to speak at Daytona economic summit on reducing childhood poverty
DAYTONA BEACH — Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis will be one of the featured speakers at the 2025 Florida Prosperity & Economic Opportunity Solutions Summit that will be held at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday.
The event, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., is being put on by the Florida Chamber of Commerce to look at ways to reduce by half the number of children living in poverty in the Sunshine State by the year 2030, according to Kristina Donahue, the chamber's director of prosperity.
More than 250 business leaders, community advocates and policy makers are expected to take part in the summit, which is held in a different part of the state each year. This will be the first time it is held in Volusia County.
The event will "address the 10 root causes of generational poverty, the business impacts of poverty, and ways to get involved at the ZIP code level to create a pathway to prosperity for all Floridians," according to a statement put out by the chamber.
"Our goal is for attendees to walk away and have a key action item they can implement within their community, to get them to say 'I can do this piece,'" said Donahue, in a phone interview. "It's really all about collaboration. No one sector can solve it alone, but if we work together, things can move in the right direction."
The goal of reducing poverty levels is part of a statewide initiative called the Florida 2030 Blueprint that launched in 2018.
According to the chamber, more than 730,000 children live in poverty statewide, including many in Volusia County.
"32114 (in Daytona Beach) is one of the poorest ZIP codes in the state of Florida," said Forough Hosseini, the founder and chair of Food Brings Hope, a local nonprofit that provides food for families with children struggling to make ends meet. Hosseini is also the chair of this year's Florida Prosperity & Economic Opportunity summit.
The summit will feature nearly two dozen speakers and panelists.
Kevin Thompson of the Florida Prepaid College Board & Foundation and Frank Kelleher, president of Daytona International Speedway, will give the welcome and opening remarks.
Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the Florida Chamber, will deliver a report on the current state of childhood poverty in Florida.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University President Dr. P. Barry Butler will moderate a panel discussion on how the space economy is driving Florida's workforce and economic opportunities. The panelists will include Robert Long, president and CEO of Space Florida, Brandon Burroughs of The Boeing Co., Jeanette Nunez, interim president of Florida International University, and Dr. Mark Rendell, superintendent of Brevard Public Schools.
Casey DeSantis and Dr. Audrey Gregory of AdventHealth will give a presentation on "Hope Florida: Building Pathways to Prosperity Through Community Partnerships across Florida."
Hosseini will give a talk on "Forming Impactful Partnerships to Create Prosperity & Homeownership."
The event will include breakfast and lunch.
For more information, including how to buy tickets to attend, visit the chamber's website or call Thelma Givens, the chamber's director of events, at 850-521-1284.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona to host economic summit to help reduce childhood poverty
