Nancy Lemon is the Founder & CEO of Girls With Confidence. She has been conducting workshops for young girls in the Tampa Bay area since 2004. Nancy started her work helping girls develop stronger self-esteem and confidence with The Ophelia Project as a mentor for their Young Women's Leadership Board and as a Certified Girls Circle Facilitator.
Nancy founded Girls With Confidence in 2011 with the focus on starting confidence building at an early age. She saw there was a huge need for programs that help young girls develop a love for themselves at an early age and for teen girls to manage through the challenging times of dealing with peer pressure, fitting in and making good decisions.
Nancy decided to establish the non-profit The Confidence & Leadership Foundation to help scholarship more young ladies. Every girl should be allowed the same opportunity to attend our programs regardless of their families financial circumstances. Donations in this area will allow girls to attend confidence & leadership building programs such as after school workshops, events or summer camps. In addition, The Confidence & Leadership Foundation will be able to provide programming for organizations, communities and schools in need.
Nancy is also the President of Professional Development Group (est. 1999) where she is a corporate trainer and consultant in the area of Leadership and Interpersonal Communications. Some of her clients include Mosaic, Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, Walmart, Blue Cross Blue Shield and many more. Nancy has been facilitating workshops for adults and children for the past 30 years. Nancy lives in Lithia, FL with her husband Brian of 28 years. Her son Jake, attends Canisius College in NY.
Karen enjoyed a 33 year sales and management career with Colgate-Palmolive. She was hired on campus at Clemson University in 1986. She worked with customers and managed sales teams in Tennessee, Texas, Michigan and Florida. She was a certified global trainer and mentored and inspired countless Colgate employees throughout her career. She was the recipient of eight Hall of Fame Awards, 4 You Can Make A Difference Awards and was the first recipient of the Colgate Lifetime Achievement Award. She was an officer in the Florida division of The Network of Executive Women, a consumer goods and services organization.
Karen retired in 2019 and enjoys time with her husband Jorge, daughters Kristen (Ryan) Coultas, and Lindsey Morrell. She is active in her church, serves on the membership committee at River Hills and is on her community’s HOA Board in Anna Maria. Her hobbies include golf, the beach, and most recently volunteering with her therapy dog Jakki. We couldn't be happier to have Karen join our board.
Mary Ann Goeltz joined our volunteer team at Girls with Confidence in August of 2021 and our board in 2022. She is currently a stay-at-home mom of two daughters that are also very involved with Girls with Confidence. Her family moved to Florida in 2015 from Virginia to enjoy all the beauty that Florida had to offer.
Mary Ann holds an Accounting degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MBA. She spent her career working for McKesson Medical. Her last role was Senior Financial Reporting Manager where she helped the senior management team understand and interpret the financial statements and analysis of the company. After her daughters were born, she worked part-time for a few small businesses doing accounting work or taxes. She has been very involved with her girl’s activities and schools. Mary Ann was PTA President at her children’s school in Virginia before they moved. She has held many volunteer positions surrounding her children’s activities over the years. Her husband is also an Accountant.
Mary Ann enjoys doing things with her family. They love going to Disney and traveling. Living in Florida has provided so many opportunities to explore. She enjoys volunteering with her family and giving back. Girls with Confidence has been an organization that the family has loved to support and participate in!
Sarah joined the Confidence and Leadership Foundation in December, 2021. After earning her degree from Oklahoma State University, she worked as a public relations director for a financial planning firm in Baton Rouge, LA. After moving to eight different states for her husband’s career, they settled in the Lithia area in 2004. She worked for the FishHawk Ranch HOA, before moving on to substitute teaching at the local public schools.
She has volunteered as a Girl Scout troop leader, homeroom mom, team mom, PTA committee leader and Relay For Life helper. As a confident empty nester, her passions include doting on her plants, a newfound love of golf, reading and long walks with her dog Shadow.
“I come from a long line of confident women! And it has always been of primary importance to me that my children grow up knowing that with a sharp wit, humility, and above all, kindness we can do anything we set our hearts to.”
The Confidence & Leadership Foundation is a 501c 3 nonprofit organization that was formed in the Fall of 2019 to help support Girls & Boys With Confidence in 2 main areas of scholarships and special projects where kids need extra support and guidance. As many of you know, many hands make light work and we have some amazing women who have stepped up to help make these goals possible.
Susan Giffin joined our volunteer team at Girls with Confidence in 2021 and our board in 2022. Susan is an advocate for supporting the healthy development of the young women and men in our community. Susan works with community organizations including church ministries, youth organizations and women’s outreach centers.
Susan and her family moved to Fishhawk in 2016 and are thankful for the community that has welcomed them. Susan has 15 years of professional experience in human resources, finance and counseling. Her husband owns his own consulting business. They are eager to support the community that they now call home.
Their family enjoys being on our beautiful ocean either boating or fishing and spending days in our many area amusement and animal parks. They travel as much as their schedule allows, to new places as well as to visit family that lives across the country. They love being Floridians, but will always be Ohio State Buckeye and Pittsburgh Steeler’s fans!
Janis Hachiya became acquainted with Girls With Confidence in 2022 while the Community School Coordinator at McDonald Elementary in Seffner, Florida. She and Nancy Lemon worked together to bring Girls With Confidence to 20 girls; the Confidence and Leadership Foundation sponsored all of the students from this Title I school. This was the beginning of a successful collaboration that empowered and built upon the strengths of the students; providing much needed guidance and mentorship. Janis joined the board in March 2024.
She has been a teacher in multiple places (CA, New Orleans, TX, and MA) prior to landing in Hillsborough County Public Schools for the last 20+ years. She has been in the classroom teaching all subjects and all grades from K-12, mentoring/coaching teachers, assistant principal, and is currently the AVID Teacher and Coordinator at King High School in Tampa, Florida. She is also the Girls Head Swim Coach for the Lions.
When not at school Janis enjoys spending time with her two girls and spends a lot of time at their swim meets. She also loves kayaking, hiking, biking; anything active and outdoors with her framily (friends and family!). She also enjoys reading, cooking, and visiting new and off the beaten path type places near and far.
Greg Rusch Joined Boys With Confidence as our Program Director in 2021 and is also the Director of Youth Ministries, Radical Hospitality, and Operations at Grace Community UMC at Fishhawk. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of South Florida and is a 2013 graduate of YMI.
He has been at Grace since 2002 and has been on staff since 2011. He also leads a ministry called Young Life in the lithia area. The kids LOVE Mr. Greg and we are thrilled to have him involved with being our lead instructor at Boys With Confidence and also supporting our foundation as a board member but also as an instructor with the programs at sever Title 1 schools.
He is married to Cindy, a registered nurse. They have 2 children, Emily & Derrick.
