Nonprofit replaces co-founder

SARASOTA — Forty Carrots, a prominent nonprofit children, family and parent education center, hired Cheryl Andrews to replace co-founder and Executive Director Betsy Kane-Hartnett, who is retiring in May.

Andrews has been vice president of Manatee Children's Services in Bradenton since 2005. She has more than 10 years of experience in nonprofit administration. “I am honored to join the Forty Carrots team as their new executive director,” Andrews said in a press release. “I have profound admiration and respect for its staff and the vision upon which it was founded.”

That vision, along with the growth of Forty Carrots, can be traced mostly to Kane-Hartnett, who announced her retirement in August. Kane-Hartnett has been one of the more well-known local known nonprofit executives over the past two decades. She said she planned to retire to work with her father, Stanley Kane, in the family's furniture business.

The Forty Carrots board of trustees chose Andrews after a regional search. Former trustee and search committee chair Richard Williams led the transition team. “We had some very big shoes to fill with Betsy leaving,” Williams said in the release, “but we believe Cheryl has the leadership abilities and expertise to do so without missing a step.”

Forty Carrots, founded in 1993, has served more than 20,000 families, with a focus on early childhood and parenting education programs. It has partnerships with 13 local nonprofit agencies.