Meet the Staff

Jill Johnson

Chief Communications Officer

Jill Johnson has more than 20 years of experience in communications, public relations and media relations. She is currently the Chief Communications Officer for Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), with responsibilities ranging from overseeing all internal and external communications and marketing initiatives to representing the College through media relations and emergency preparedness. Jill previously served as the College’s Director of Marketing and Communications. In that role, she lead and evaluated marketing and communications strategies to maximize the FSCJ brand, while also managing response to media inquiries.

Before joining FSCJ, she worked in communications and public relations roles for Duval County Public Schools, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the City of Jacksonville’s Office of the Mayor and WJCT Public Broadcasting.

Jill earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of North Florida. She is a mentor with Take Stock in Children and often volunteers as a guest speaker for students interested in her area of expertise.

As Chief Communications Officer, Jill is responsible for the overall leadership of the communications staff. Specifically, Jill will lead efforts in strategic communications, public relations, crisis communications, media relations, social media and website management.

(904) 632-5016
jill.johnson@fscj.edu

Eleana Demeritt

Administrative Assistant

Eleana Demeritt provides administrative support to Florida State College at Jacksonville's Marketing and Communications department. Eleana assists with budget expenses, correspondence with vendors and general department organization. 

(904) 632-3125

eleana.demeritt@fscj.edu

Amy Lavner

Director of Marketing

Amy Lavner is the Director of Marketing at Florida State College at Jacksonville. She earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Communications from the University of Georgia. Amy has over 12 years of marketing experience and has worked at other institutions such as Seminole State College and University of Central Florida.

(904) 633-8305

amy.lavner@fscj.edu

Michael Ahmed

Web Communications Manager/Applications Developer

Michael is the Web Communications Manager/Applications Developer for Florida State College at Jacksonville. Michael earned a bachelor's degree in Education with a minor in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Management & Leadership from Liberty University. Michael is an award-winning mobile application and website developer with over 20 years of experience. Michael has developed solutions for the U.S. Navy, Shands Hospital, St. John & Partners, Duval County Public Schools, Jacksonville University, Florida Blue and various other organizations.

(904) 632-3153

mahmed@fscj.edu

Andrew Sachse

Frontend Web Developer

Andrew is the Front-end Web Developer at Florida State College at Jacksonville. In this role, he supports design, development and maintenance of the FSCJ website. Andrew earned a Bachelor's in Applied Science (B.A.S.) in Digital Media from FSCJ. Andrew has had several years of experience designing and building websites in agency and freelance environments before joining the FSCJ team in 2020.

(904) 632-3152

andrew.sachse@fscj.edu

Kevin Labrecque

Chief Production Manager

Kevin Labrecque is the chief production manager for Florida State College at Jacksonville. Kevin is an award-winning videographer and editor who began his career at a local television news station in Jacksonville when he was only 16. Kevin covered everything from kidnappings to hurricanes to joyful homecomings and spent time deployed on the U.S.S John F. Kennedy. Kevin came to FSCJ in October 2009 after working in production for the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, where he produced training videos as well as responded to emergency calls to document the heroism of our City’s fire service personnel.

(904) 633-5932

kevin.labrecque@fscj.edu

Doug Lockwood

Multimedia Specialist

Doug Lockwood, also known as “Woody,” is a Multimedia Specialist for Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ). He came to FSCJ from First Coast News (a local news station in Jacksonville, Fla.). Woody is an award winning photojournalist. While at First Coast News he was part of some of the biggest stories from Jacksonville in the last 20 years.  He covered topics such as Human Interest, Consumer Fraud and Hurricanes. Some of his best work was completed with Roger Weeder and Ken Amaro, two of the top reporters in Jacksonville's history. Woody earned a bachelor’s in communications from the University of Alabama. He also studied computer science through FSCJ’s Cisco Academy and received the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Certification.

(904) 632-3378

doug.lockwood@fscj.edu

Jennifer Walls

Assistant Director of Marketing

With over 12 years of experience in marketing, advertising and public relations, Jennifer Walls is the assistant director of marketing for Florida State College at Jacksonville. She earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Advertising-Public Relations with a minor in business from the Pennsylvania State University. Jennifer's professional background includes work with both private and non-profit organizations, as well as event planning and advertising agencies.

(904) 632-3146

jennifer.walls@fscj.edu

Katherine Martin

Multimedia Specialist

Katherine Martin is a multimedia specialist for Florida State College at Jacksonville, providing multimedia and graphic design support for Collegewide marketing and communications initiatives. She has been with FSCJ since 2000 and brings a wealth of knowledge from working in various capacities throughout the College combined with her extensive experience in web design, print projects, branding efforts and photography. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A) from the University of North Florida with a concentration in graphic design.

(904) 631-6370

katherine.martin@fscj.edu

Elizabeth Rice

Multimedia Specialist

With over nine years of experience, Liz directs the creative development and output of the Marketing Department. As the lead graphic designer at Florida State College at Jacksonville, Liz is responsible for the major campaigns, branding and the creative materials distributed to the College as a whole. She received her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from James Madison University, with a double -major in Media Arts Design and English.

(904) 632-3247

erice@fscj.edu

Amanda Burgess

Assistant Director of Communications

With more than 11 years of progressive experience in advertising, communications, marketing and client services, Amanda Burgess is the assistant director of communications for Florida State College at Jacksonville. After graduating with her bachelor's degree in advertising and a minor in business from the University of Alabama, Amanda began her career in the Southeast's leading full-service advertising, public relations and digital agency working with a large portfolio of clients in the education, health care, nonprofit and retail industries and has since served as a marketing and communications lead for two of the largest health care providers in Jacksonville.

(904) 632-3236

amanda.burgess@fscj.edu

Joel Straus

Assistant Director of Integrated Communications and Special Events

As the Assistant Director of Integrated Communications and Special Events, Joel is responsible for supporting the special events, public relations and marketing efforts for the College. He was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in marketing. He spent 10 years managing promotional events for the Dallas Mavericks. Before moving to Jacksonville, he was a Festivals and Events Manager for the City of Grapevine (centrally located between Dallas and Fort Worth), where he supported the production of large festivals and events for the city.

(904) 632-5117

joel.straus@fscj.edu

Tyrah Starke

Communications Coordinator

Tyrah Starke is the communications coordinator for FSCJ. Her daily operations include overseeing and creating cultivating content for the College’s main social media accounts. She received her Bachelor of Arts (B.A) from the University of South Florida, majoring in Mass Communications with a concentration in broadcast news. Tyrah’s professional background includes tv reporting, event hosting and social media management.

(904) 632-3195

tyrah.starke@fscj.edu