Blessings in a Backpack Central Florida appoints AAA national compliance director Annette Howell to advisory board

Blessings in a Backpack Central Florida, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing childhood food insecurity by providing ready-to-eat, nonperishable food on the weekends to local school-aged children, appointed Annette Howell to its advisory board.

Howell brings more than 15 years of executive experience in enterprise governance, compliance, and risk management to the board. She currently serves as the director of compliance at the national headquarters of AAA (American Automobile Association) in Heathrow, Florida. In her role at AAA — a privately held, not-for-profit member association serving 66 million members and 40,000 employees across the U.S. and Canada — Howell leads strategic initiatives focused on corporate governance, internal controls, and executive and board-level reporting.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Annette to our Central Florida advisory board,” said Diane LaVigna, Managing Director of Blessings in a Backpack Central Florida. “As our chapter continues to bridge the weekend hunger gap for kids in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties. Annette’s deep expertise and values-driven leadership style make her an invaluable asset to our mission.”

Throughout her career, Howell has built a stellar reputation for strengthening organizational governance frameworks and fostering cross-functional collaboration. Her extensive background spans operational risk management, ethics, board engagement, and enterprise policy development.

“As a Central Florida native, I am deeply committed to giving back to the community that raised me,” said Howell. “No child should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from when the school bell rings on Friday. I am honored to join the Blessings in a Backpack advisory board and look forward to leveraging my background to help the organization sustainably grow, optimize our impact, and serve even more local families.”

Howell is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP®) and a Project Management Professional (PMP®). She holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from her hometown alma mater, the University of Central Florida. She resides in Oviedo, Florida.

About Blessings in a Backpack Central Florida

Blessings in a Backpack mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide weekend food nutrition to schoolchildren who might otherwise go hungry. As a leader in the movement to end childhood hunger, the Central Florida Chapter ensures local elementary students who rely on school meals during the week have a backpack filled with nutritious food to take home every Friday. For more information, to volunteer, or to make a donation, visit https://orlando.blessingsinabackpack.org.