The Center of Anna Maria Island has experienced another staff shakeup, but operations should be running as normal.
On Wednesday, May 10, youth director Stephanie Rycerz turned in her resignation.
She held for the position for less than two months before her departure. Rycerz was hired in March to replace former youth director Emily Moss, who left the center for personal reasons.
Kristen Lessig, executive director of the center, said a replacement had already been hired.
Lisa Coba, an Anna Maria resident who has worked as a preschool teacher and with the Florida Department of Children and Families, will serve as the center’s new youth director beginning June 1.
Coba will lead both the center’s aftercare program and the upcoming summer camps, which begin in June.
In addition, Lessig said, some local residents and teachers, including teachers from Anna Maria Elementary, will join the center to staff the summer camp programs.
Lessig said she was not at liberty to share the reason for Rycerz’s departure.
Rycerz was not available for comment.
In addition to Rycerz’s departure, the center also lost longtime staffer Robyn Kinkopf, who served as director of first impressions.
Kinkopf said she was sad about her departure, and wished success for the center.
Five staff members have left the center since the beginning of the year. This includes Ryzerz, Moss and Kinkopf, as well as former sports program manager Drew Mitchell and former Beyond the Classroom program assistant Rainia Lardas.
In addition, seasonal front desk staffer Debi Grotz was let go at the end of the snowbird season, Lessig said, and Beyond the Classroom program assistant Alyssa Hibert left for medical reasons.
Mitchell left the center for personal reasons, while Lardas left to pursue her career goals at Mote Aquarium in Sarasota. Moss left to attend to her family.
Lessig said Hibert plans to return in the fall as a yoga instructor.