Ileana Kniss
Chief Development and Marketing Officer
(863) 648-1500, ext. 238
Ileana Kniss was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico and moved to Lakeland, FL when she was 7. As a longtime resident, Ileana is a graduate of Lakeland High School. She went on to earn a BA in Communications from the University of Central Florida. Ileana has more than 15 years’ experience in fundraising/development and community relations working at established organizations such as the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, GiveWell Community Foundation, Lakeland Regional Foundation, Polk State College Foundation and Peace River Center.
Ileana is a past-president of the Kiwanis Club of Lakeland and the Polk County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals; a graduate of Leadership Lakeland Class XXX; and a graduate of Polk Vision’s Leadership Polk Class VII.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, running, time outdoors and giving back to the community. Ileana enjoys being a boy mom to two boys 16 and 13, and is married to her high school sweetheart, Gregg.