JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Kids Hope Alliance has officially named Dr. Dana Kriznar as its new interim CEO, marking a leadership change for the local nonprofit that oversees millions in public funding for children\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes months after the KHA board fired former CEO Saralyn Grass<\/b><\/a> following an Action News Jax investigation<\/b><\/a>. That investigation found Grass failed to file the required secondary employment paperwork when she formed a consulting company with her husband. Board members also cited concerns about transparency<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Kriznar was unanimously approved by the board during a public meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cWith a great deal of pride, I would like to make the motion that we approve Dr. Dana Kriznar as the interim CEO for Kids Hope Alliance,\u201d board member Lawrence Dennis said ahead of the vote.<\/p>\n Kriznar brings decades of experience in Duval County Public Schools. Her career with the district began in the 1980s as a math teacher and later included roles as principal, assistant principal, assistant superintendent of strategic planning and partnerships, chief of staff, and deputy superintendent.<\/p>\n RELATED: <\/b>Jacksonville\u2019s Kids Hope Alliance nominates Dr. Dana Kriznar to be interim CEO<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Board Chair Marsha Oliver said Kriznar\u2019s commitment to service made her the clear choice.<\/p>\n \u201cShe had me at the word serve,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cWhen you look at the definition of the word serve, it is the intentional practice, and that is indeed Dana Kriznar.\u201d<\/p>\n Board members said Kriznar was highly recommended and ultimately the only candidate brought forward for the interim position.<\/p>\n But even as KHA looks ahead with new leadership, new questions are being raised about its former CEO.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n Vice Chair Cynthia Nixon questioned Grass\u2019s relationship with the Boys & Girls Club, a KHA partner agency. In an email to Action News Jax, a Boys & Girls Club spokesperson confirmed Grass began consulting with the organization in December.<\/p>\n Nixon questioned whether that work could violate ethics code.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure if this is all hearsay, but it has come to my attention that the former CEO has gone to work for one of our agencies or may have even done some contract work,\u201d Nixon said during the meeting. \u201cI was just wondering how that\u2019s possible and if it\u2019s something in the ethics laws that prohibits that from happening.\u201d<\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax reached out to Grass for comment about the ethics concerns raised during the meeting. She responded by text, saying, \u201cI have no comment on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n The KHA board said it is preparing to look into Grass\u2019s ties with the Boys & Girls Club before determining whether that relationship violates any ethics code.<\/p>\n As for Kriznar, board members say they believe her future with the nonprofit is promising, with Oliver calling the transition \u201cthe start of something new\u201d and saying it brings \u201cthe hope of something great.\u201d<\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Kids Hope Alliance has officially named Dr. Dana Kriznar as its new interim CEO, marking…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":550115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[7320,5229,7323,241563,3188,723,7324,7310,7327,241562,146972,7325,7326,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7322,7321],"class_list":{"0":"post-550114","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-action-news-jax","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-cbs47","11":"tag-ceo-of-kids-hope-alliance","12":"tag-fl","13":"tag-florida","14":"tag-fox30","15":"tag-jacksonville","16":"tag-jacksonville-fl","17":"tag-kha-board","18":"tag-kids-hope-alliance","19":"tag-northeast-florida","20":"tag-southeast-georgia","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa","27":"tag-wfox","28":"tag-wjax"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115975033384069475","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}