Sarasota, April 20 – The Aviva Jewish Housing Foundation has hired local veteran event planning and fundraising professional Johnette Cappadona as its new director of development, according to Scott Anderson, the foundation’s vice president of philanthropy.She will be working closely with the foundation’s entire donor base and will be involved with all the organizations special events, including “Keep the Dream Alive” and “Eight Over 80,” according to Anderson.Cappadona has worked in Sarasota for a variety of major organizations, including University of South Florida-Manatee, All Faiths Food Bank, New College Library Association, New College Foundation, and Jewish Family and Children’s Service. She has served on several local boards including Project 180 as development chair and the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County as commissioner.She came to Sarasota in 2002 from Austin Texas, where she served as director of patron services at the Austin Symphony Orchestra. She studied at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas and Our Lady of the Lake University’s Worden School of Social Work in San Antonio.“Johnette has a proven track record of devising and running successful special events, creating opportunities for existing donors and expanding donor bases. We are confident she will help us meet our current and future development needs,” said Anderson.####Aviva Jewish Housing Foundation is a non-profit organization with a reverence for life and a belief in its dignity. The council creates and sustains non-exclusionary communities, (such as Aviva - A Campus for Jewish Living on 1951 N Honore Ave, Sarasota), where seniors can live life to its fullest, answering their needs for quality housing, financial peace of mind, wellness and spiritual fulfillment.