IMMOKALEE (Oct. 2) – Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) announces that Dani Higgins of Lakeland and Fritz Roka of Ft. Myers were elected to its board of directors. RMCA, the state’s largest nonprofit provider of early childhood education, runs 66 child development centers, 19 partner family child care homes, 3 charter schools and several afterschool care programs in 21 Florida counties, serving more than 6,500 children from low-income families annually.
Higgins is a Migrant Success Coach at Mulberry Middle School, Mulberry Senior High School, Summerlin Academy and Traviss Technical College. She earned a master of educational leadership from Florida Southern College and a bachelor of English from Southeastern University.
Higgins was named the Florida Migrant Advocate of the Year 2016 by the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Federal Programs and Polk County Take Stock in Children Mentor of the Year 2016 by the Polk County School District. She was recently appointed to the National Council of Migrant Health.
Roka is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Agribusiness at Florida Gulf Coast University. Previously, he worked for more than 22 years for the University of Florida at the Southwest Research & Education Center in Immokalee. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University and both a master’s degree and bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics from the University of Maryland.
ABOUT RCMA
Established in 1965 as Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA), RCMA provides quality child care, education and family-support services to people in rural areas living in poverty, including many migrant families. RCMA runs 66 child development centers, 19 partner family child care homes, 3 charter schools and several afterschool care programs in 21 Florida counties. The non-profit organization with an $82 million budget has 1,400 employees and serves more than 6,500 children annually. Learn more at rcma.org.
