FUTURES Graduates 40 from Tomorrow’s Leaders Program

FUTURES Foundation for Volusia County Schools graduated 40 high school juniors on Monday, April 13th, from its 38th annual Tomorrow’s Leaders Program which develops young leaders for our community. The graduation celebration was presented by Lauren Burkhalter, CDFA of Morgan Stanley. The students, representing 10 Volusia public high schools, participated in five full day seminars conducted by community leaders. Each seminar is designed to familiarize students with key businesses and agencies in Volusia County and to develop leadership skills.

Included in the program were lectures, discussions and tours of various businesses and governmental operations. Seminar topics included: leadership; ethics; sports marketing; education and governmental systems; entrepreneurship, economic development and manufacturing; the Arts; and healthcare and social services.  Presentation partners included AdventHealth, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Boston Whaler, Daytona International Speedway & NASCAR, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Houligan’s Spirited Sports Grille, Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), The Neighborhood Center of West Volusia, Seventh Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Leah Case, SMA Healthcare’s Residential Adolescent Program (RAP), Synergy Billing & CEO Jayson Meyer, Volusia County Council & Government, Volusia County School District & School Board, and Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis & team.

Seminar and lunch sponsors included AdventHealth, Houligan’s Spirited Sports Grille, Sonny’s BBQ DeLand and Synergy Billing.

Through the FUTURES Tomorrow’s Leaders program, the 40 high school juniors were challenged to expand their awareness of the inter-relationships and complexities of our community and the businesses which thrive here.

 

Graduates from the 2026 Class of Tomorrow’s Leaders are: 

Atlantic High School

Brianna Adames

Cristiana Galba

Olivia Kushner

Alivia Sanders-Smith

 

DeLand High School

Lance Eagan

Ansley Foster

Adalyn Goodwin

Elliott Kelton

Mia Portillo

Malia Sabatini

Sara Visconti

 

Deltona High School

Yuniel Castro

Jaileen Medina 

Renee Relation

Landon Scott

 

Mainland High School

Ariel McAndrew

Sidney Robertson

Thaddeus Rodziewicz

Alana Saucier

Isaac Strozier III

 

New Smyrna Beach High School

Brooklyn Bernstein

Jillian Daly

Mia Markland

 

Pine Ridge High School

William Peavy

 

Seabreeze High School

Dalton Boice

Jasmine Bozorgmanesh

Ginger Feigenbaum

Rani Gupta

Tej Patel

Betsy Reece

 

Spruce Creek High School

Alexander Anderson

Salsabeel Eldeeb

Caleb Finley

Shivana Harbhajan

Insha Majeed

Michael Schoenbrod III

 

University High School

Benjamin Gotlib

Isabelle Hendron

Taylor Nissen

Natalie Rivas

 

Founded in 1985, FUTURES is a nonprofit, direct support organization for Volusia County Schools. Its mission is to engage business, civic, and district leaders to promote and achieve educational excellence for Volusia County Public Schools. FUTURES’s 30-member board of directors consists of area leaders who direct and raise funds to facilitate a variety of programs in the school district, including Tomorrow’s Leaders. For more information about FUTURES and the programs it provides, please visit its website at www.FUTURESVolusia.org or contact Executive Director Shimene Shepard at (386) 255-6475, ext. 50730, or futuresfoundation@Volusia.K12.FL.US.