Central-Cocoanut Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt: Jane’s Walk 2013

Tim Dutton has been a leader in experimenting with ideas in how lasting change happens for more than three decades. With a master’s degree in social and applied economics, Tim spent the first twelve years of his career as a hospital administrator in Ohio and later in Haiti. It was the experience in Haiti that connected him to the potency of relationship and trust and the impact that small changes can make toward large scale, even community-wide change. It reinforced the long-standing commitment to equity and social justice that continues to shape Tim’s thinking and decisions. Though the love for Haiti remains, Tim moved to Sarasota nearly two decades ago and now stays in the Central-Cocoanut neighborhood. He was the founding CEO of SCOPE, a community engagement organization in Sarasota, and shepherded it through a dozen years of development until the fall of 2012. During that time SCOPE developed the community’s first indicators report that evolved considerably, and ultimately SCOPE facilitated the development of the community data collaborative in 2011/12. The methods used to engage community also evolved so that discussions included personal commitment and an asset orientation. During the last years at SCOPE, Tim helped catalyze and birth the Institute for the Ages and served as its acting CEO. He now is Co-Executive Director of the Sarasota Community Studio.