Bradenton foundation with $200M in assets names first-ever CEO

Wendy Deming, a well-known nonprofit executive with more than 25 years experience in the region, has been named CEO of the Bishop-Parker Foundation, a Bradenton nonprofit that supports health, human services, education, the arts, environment and animal welfare causes. 

Deming succeeds Adell Erozer, the foundation’s current executive director, who is retiring in February. The position is the first time the organization has had a CEO, according to a statement. 

“We are excited to work with Wendy to increase the impact of our giving in Manatee County, and we look forward to growing our partnerships for the benefit of residents in our community,” says Bob Blalock, administrative officer for the Bishop-Parker Foundation Board of Trustees, in the statement.

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Deming operates Deming Consulting, which provides “capacity-building services that strengthen nonprofit organizations in southwest Florida and beyond,” according to the statement. Before launching Deming Consulting, Deming was COO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, where she was responsible for leading internal operations, overseeing finance, marketing, development, human resources, strategic planning and board governance. Prior to her tenure at Selby Gardens, Deming served in various roles at Gulf Coast Community Foundation in Venice from 2000 to 2018, most recently as COO, the release states. 

“It is a privilege for me to serve the community in this role,” Deming says in the release. “The Founders and Trustees of Bishop-Parker Foundation have a strong history of making meaningful differences in Manatee County, and I am grateful for the opportunity to build upon their legacy.” 

The Bishop-Parker Foundation stems from the July 2022 combination of two other organizations: the Edward E. and Lillian H. Bishop Foundation and the Mary E. Parker Foundation. The Bishop-Parker Foundation, according to its website, is now legally consolidated as the Mary E. Parker Foundation doing business as the Bishop-Parker Foundation.

The Mary E. Parker Foundation, according to its most recent 990 IRS public tax filing, has $108.42 million in assets. The Edward E. and Lillian H. Bishop Foundation had $92.87 million in assets in its most recent fiscal year, according to its 990 form. 

The Bishop-Parker Foundation awarded $4.17 million in grants in the spring 2023 cycle, according to its website. Recipients included Big Brothers Big Sisters, Forty Carrots, Healthy Teens, the UF Foundation and Visible Men Academy, among more than a dozen other groups.