Kelly Altosino-Sastre

Kelly Altosino-Sastre is the Executive Director of Citizens for a Better South Florida, Inc., a private, non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education seeking to improve the quality of life for our diverse community through the understanding of environmental issues while inspiring personal stewardship of the environment.

Born in Chicago, Kelly moved to Miami in the early 70’s. She is a graduate of Coral Gables Senior High, an alumna from Miami-Dade College with an Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education and an Associate in Science in Child Development. She has earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Science from Nova Southeastern University in Administration, Child and Youth Care.

Kelly has held a multitude of leadership positions in the field of education in South Florida and has long history of dedicated community service in an array of non-profit organizations. Kelly’s love of children and education can be traced throughout her career. She was a teacher of babies with Down Syndrome and their parents in the Infant-Toddler Program at the Learning Experience School, where she was also a volunteer and board member for more than 20 years. She was the Director of the Growing Place Preschool at the First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables where she developed an educational program to bridge preschool and primary school utilizing The Growing Plan, a curriculum authored by Kelly, which was published in the Jean Harrell Memorial Journal of Outstanding Practicums at Nova Southeastern University. It was under her directorship that the school became nationally accredited as a school of excellence through the National Association for the Education of Young children. At the same time, she was the volunteer Executive Director of the Cavalier Soccer Club, a non-profit organization which she and her husband started for children ages 5-18 where more than 400 children participated. Additionally, Kelly was a business owner in the for-profit arena in Coral Gables, while teaching Early Childhood Education and Childcare Administration at Miami-Dade’s Wolfson and Kendall’s campuses as an Adjunct Professor. She was an instructor at Coral Gables Adult Education Center where she brought the Child Development Associate Equivalency Program to the school’s Adult and community education program

With over 30 years of experience of service to non-profit organizations, Kelly has extensive knowledge and expertise in the area of development and fundraising. Prior to her appointment at Citizens, Kelly was the Director of Development and Fundraising at Switchboard of Miami, Inc.

Kelly is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Coral Gables and the current Chairperson of Rotary International’s PolioPlus Program for Rotary District 6990, which includes 2400 Rotarians in 52 clubs. She is the current Vice Chair for the Advisory Board on Disability Affairs for the City of Coral Gables and the Past Chair of the Education Committee of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce. She is the recipient of the Red Cross Spectrum Award for Education, the Green Family Foundation United Way American Values Award, was an Athena Award Finalist for the Coral Gables Community Foundation and was named Rotarian of the Year in 2000.

Kelly has been married to Aristides for 30 years. They have three adult children. Aris and daughter-in-law Gia and grandson Ari live in Chicago, Cameron and daughter-in-law Lauren live in North Carolina and her daughter Stacci lives in New Jersey. JR Reed is their soon to be son-in-law.