Longtime PR counsel joins foundation

Carolyn Rogers, a well-known Fort Myers public-relations professional, is closing up shop and joining the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.

Rogers is closing her firm, SimplifyPR, and will join the foundation as vice president of development and communications in July. The charitable foundation manages $68 million in assets and provided more than $3 million to 100 different nonprofit organizations in 2012 in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.

Rogers be working closely with Sarah Owen, the president and CEO of the foundation, one of the top fundraisers in the region.

Rogers has an impressive fundraising track record of her own. She was one of the founders and led the marketing efforts of the Southwest Florida Wine Fest in Fort Myers, which raised $7.5 million for charity this year.