LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. (January 12, 2025) – Ivory Matthews has been named to the Board of Trustees at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. Matthews serves as vice president of community and governmental affairs at Neal Communities, Southwest Florida’s largest locally owned and operated private builder.
“I’m honored to join Mote’s Board of Trustees,” says Matthews. “Mote is giving local students complementary access to hands-on science experiences that can change how they see their future and that’s powerful and important to me.”
Since 2023, Matthews has served as a member of Mote’s Education & Outreach Committee, contributing to strategy around programs that engage youth and community in marine science. She is also a member of the Florida State Board of Take Stock in Children, Board Chair for Step Up Suncoast, Inc. and is a member of the board for CREW Sarasota and the Tampa Bay Partnership.
Having resided in Sarasota and working in science, Matthews has been involved with the marine-science community and has observed Mote’s growth firsthand.
“Two years ago—while traveling abroad in Argentina—I found myself describing my diving adventures to fellow travelers,” she says. “One family from London knew of Mote and shared that the father had gone diving with Mote in the Florida Keys. That moment highlighted for me Mote’s global reach and influence.”
Her business success and devotion to the community have resulted in Matthews recently being honored with several awards from local media organizations. She was named to the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 as well as the same list for the Business Observer, a regional Florida-focused business publication. In addition, Matthews was nominated as one of SRQ Magazine’s Women Who Roar.
At Neal Communities, Matthews has risen from working a two-week temporary job in environmental permitting to her current role as VP of Community and Governmental Affairs. She is charged with interacting with both government entities about things like entitlements and with residents where the company plans to build. In the past year, she has successfully entitled $50 million worth of land, which translates into approximately 2,500 residential units.
Additionally, Matthews oversees Neal Communities’ $500,000 Plan for Giving, a philanthropic program that supports quality of life initiatives and education and has a large element of employee-led giving, where the company supports causes that are important to its staff. Neal Communities has a philanthropic culture and a core belief that “Where You Live Matters.” Neal Communities has more than $8 million to local charities and causes throughout Southwest Florida.
The new 12-acre Mote Science Education Aquarium (SEA) campus opened to the public last month.
Mote SEA transforms Mote’s ability to provide informal science education and enhanced levels of ocean literacy to much larger and more diverse populations from around the world. The 146,000-square-foot facility enables individuals of all ages and backgrounds to engage with the ocean and experience a window into Mote’s globally significant marine science research and conservation initiatives.
Science is the attraction at Mote SEA. The innovative facility features three state-of-the-art STEM Teaching Labs focused on Biomedical, Microbiology & Immunology; Marine & Coastal Ecology; and Ocean Engineering, AI Technology, Robotics & Sensor Development. These labs will provide hands-on experiential learning to more than 70,000 K–12 students annually from Sarasota and Manatee county schools (as well as those schools in nearby counties), including over 26,000 Title 1 students, completely free of charge.
Mote operates 38 research programs and centers in its global research enterprise. Its research spans marine biomedical science, as well as conservation, restoration and monitoring of iconic species and habitats. With its new facility, visitor attendance is expected to double and in the first month of operation, Mote welcomed 100,000 guests.
