Samira K. Beckwith
Acting Board Chair

Samira K. Beckwith, a two-time cancer survivor, has over 30 years experience in professional healthcare and social services. She has served as President and CEO of Hope HealthCare Services, based in Fort Myers, Florida, since 1991.
Under her leadership, Hope has created a unique array of services for the frail elderly and children and today serves nearly 3,000 people and their families in a 10,000 square-mile area throughout southwest and mid-Florida.
In 2010, Samira was appointed as a Team Leader on Florida Governor-elect Rick Scott’s Health and Human Services Transition Team. Former Governor Jeb Bush described her as a visionary who provides leadership on a local and national level – “passionate about ensuring the highest quality” of service in her role as President of Hope. With that in mind, he appointed Samira to the state’s Long-Term Care Policy Council, focused on providing the most cost-effective, community-based services for Florida’s elderly. She has testified before a US House Judiciary subcommittee on the need for legislation to enable better care and comfort for those at the end of life.
Samira currently maintains leadership roles in multiple national, state, and community organizations, including the Board of Directors of the Hospice Action Network and Florida Hospices and Palliative Care Association. She served previously on the Board of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Ohio State University Alumni Association. Samira is the Founding President of the Florida PACE Association – the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly.
Awards and honors bestowed upon Samira include the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor, presented to distinguished Americans who “represent the very essence of the American way of life.” She has twice been honored by the National Association of Social Workers, as a Community Action Hero and a Social Work Pioneer. She has received the Ohio State University Alumni Association’s Medalist Award, and has been inducted into the Ohio State University College of Social Work Hall of Fame.