Seminole Coconut Creek Education Foundation, Inc.

Board of Directors

Meet the Board Members:

Mary C. Blasi has spent more than 35 years in public service and served the City of Coconut Creek for 23 years culminating her career as the first female City Manager from 2013 to 2019. Prior to that, she was the Finance Director for the cities of Tamarac, Hallandale Beach, and Dania Beach.
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President Mary Blasi

Steve Bonner was named President of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa in November of 2018. He is responsible for all operations and management of Tampa Bay’s largest entertainment complex, which includes one of the largest casinos in the nation, as ranked by the number of gaming positions.
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Vice President Steve Bonner

Mrs. Diffenderfer is Shareholder and President of Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A. and holds an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Michelle assists landowners, businesses and governments with local, state and federal, environmental, natural resource and land development legal requirements.
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Secretary Michelle Diffenderfer

The Coconut Creek City Commission named Karen M. Brooks as City Manager effective October 4, 2019, with a unanimous vote. Brooks is responsible for overseeing the City’s $157 million budget, 434 full-time equivalent employees, and the City’s day-to-day operations.
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Treasurer Karen Brooks

Robert B. Crawford is the Director of Atlantic Technical College and Technical High School, one of three Technical Colleges operated by the School Board of Broward County, Florida. He has been involved in Workforce Education for the past 50 years in a variety of roles and responsibilities.
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Director Robert Crawford

President Mary Blasi

Mary C. Blasi has spent more than 35 years in public service and served the City of Coconut Creek for 23 years culminating her career as the first female City Manager from 2013 to 2019.  Prior to that, she was the Finance Director for the cities of Tamarac, Hallandale Beach, and Dania Beach.  Mary was a founding director of the Coconut Creek Chamber of Commerce, served as the President of the Broward County City Manager’s Association and was a member of both the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance and the Junior Achievement of South Florida Board of Directors.  As City Manager, she was instrumental in the formation of the Seminole Coconut Creek Education Foundation.

Mary holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, and is a graduate of both the Advanced Government Finance Institute at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service Senior Executive Institute.  She is also a Certified Public Accountant, an International City Management Association Credentialed Manager, and a Certified Government Finance Officer. 

Vice President Steve Bonner

Steve Bonner was named President of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa in November of 2018. He is responsible for all operations and management of Tampa Bay’s largest entertainment complex, which includes one of the largest casinos in the nation, as ranked by the number of gaming positions.
Bonner arrived at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa after serving as General Manager and President of Seminole Casino Coconut Creek for 16 years. During that time, he was responsible for managing the evolution of what was a small gaming facility into a major South Florida casino, dining and entertainment destination, with nearly 2,000 slot machines, five restaurants and a 1,200-seat event center (The Pavilion) for concert and comedy performances.
Bonner has a knack for identifying creative casino publicity, marketing and promotional opportunities. He has three decades of gaming industry executive experience, including previous positions with Black Hawk Gaming & Development Company in Black Hawk, Colorado, and Hemmeter Enterprises in Denver, Colorado.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Secretary Michelle Diffenderfer​

     Mrs. Diffenderfer is Shareholder and President of Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A. and holds an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Michelle assists landowners, businesses and governments with local, state and federal, environmental, natural resource and land development legal requirements. Michelle helps clients navigate these laws and regulations in the permitting of their land development and infrastructure projects.
     Michelle is Secretary and Board Member for the Seminole Coconut Creek Education Foundation. Michelle was elected to Chair the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy & Resources, in August 2021. Michelle Co-Chairs the Mayor of West Palm Beach’s Task Force for Racial and Ethnic Equality. Michelle is Membership Co-Chair of Region IV of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Michelle previously chaired and remains involved with: Girls II Women, Inc., the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar, and the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches.             Michelle received her B.A., with honors from Brown University in 1990 and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Miami, School of Law in 1994.

Treasurer Karen Brooks

The Coconut Creek City Commission named Karen M. Brooks as City Manager effective October 4, 2019, with a unanimous vote. Brooks is responsible for overseeing the City’s $157 million budget, 434 full-time equivalent employees, and the City’s day-to-day operations.
Brooks joined Coconut Creek in May 1997 as the City’s Controller and was named Director of Finance and Administrative Services in 2002. In 2016, her role was expanded to include Assistant City Manager and in 2017 she became Deputy City Manager/Chief Financial Officer.
Brooks is a Certified Public Finance Officer, Certified Public Funds Investment Manager and is becoming an International City Management Association (ICMA) Credentialed Manager. She holds a BS degree in Accounting from Fort Lauderdale College, an MBA from Nova Southeastern University and is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service Senior Executive Institute.
Prior to joining the City, Brooks served the City of Tamarac for ten years in various finance positions.

Director Robert Crawford

Robert B. Crawford is the Director of Atlantic Technical College and Technical High
School, one of three Technical Colleges operated by the School Board of Broward
County, Florida. He has been involved in Workforce Education for the past 50 years
in a variety of roles and responsibilities. Atlantic Technical College is the largest of
all 48 Technical Colleges in the State with an enrollment of over 4,500 post
secondary and more than 700 high school students. Atlantic offers over 37 various
Career, Technical and Adult General Education programs, as well as housing the
largest number of apprenticeship programs/enrollment in the Southeast United
States.