David W. Jezek, president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg, will retire at the end of this year. Jezek’s retirement will conclude a 42-year professional YMCA career across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Florida.
Jezek joined the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg in 2008 and oversaw organizational growth. Under his leadership, the YMCA’s annual operating budget grew from $7 million to $22 million, and he secured more than $40 million in capital funding. Notably, Jezek secured an $8 million naming gift for the Speer YMCA and a $2.5 million state appropriation, the first in the organization’s history.
Among Jezek’s key accomplishments was launching the YMCA’s Preschool Academies and creating an innovative partnership with Pinellas County Schools, integrating Speer YMCA with Mangrove Bay Middle School. Additionally, Jezek initiated the redevelopment project of the Jim & Heather Gills YMCA, enhancing the facility and expanding community services.
Jezek also co-founded the YMCA of the Cayman Islands in 2014, and established the Small and Mid-Size YMCA Network, in 2021, now engaging 635 YMCA CEOs, nationwide.
The YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg will launch a national search for Jezek’s successor.