That Flower Feeling Foundation Announces Leadership Evolution for ‘Just Add Flowers’ Campaign

New Agile Leadership Structure and Expanded Operational Roles to Drive Next Phase of Thriving Five-Year Campaign and Support This Year’s $1.6 Million Fundraising Goal

CARLSBAD, CA — That Flower Feeling Foundation (TFF), the cooperative effort behind the floral industry’s highly successful national consumer marketing campaign, “Just Add Flowers,” announced a strategic transition of its leadership and operational structure. Effective June 8, 2026, the Foundation will adopt an agile, streamlined leadership model and elevate key internal personnel to support the campaign’s next phase of market expansion as it enters its fifth consecutive year of thriving, industry-wide impact.

The organizational evolution is anchored by the appointment of industry veteran Joe Don Zetzsche as Interim Executive Director. To ensure absolute operational continuity, former Executive Director Vanessa Leite—who has been instrumental in building the Foundation’s highly efficient back-office infrastructure, donor database frameworks, national fundraising strategies, and Unit Sales program from the ground up—will step into the role of Interim Admin Director. The Board and staff are thrilled that Vanessa will remain an active, core part of the process, providing critical coaching, financial compliance oversight, and strategic operational support to the team.

In tandem with these executive updates, TFF is demonstrating its commitment to stability by continuing Madison Greene’s dedicated work in her current role as Communications & Programs Manager, while elevating Stephany Guimaraes to full-time Social Media & Admin Manager. This optimized organizational model allows TFF to remain exceptionally lean administratively. By focusing on operational efficiency, the Foundation is perfectly positioned to maximize every contribution as it aggressively pursues its active $1.6 million fundraising goal for this year, driving uninterrupted, long-term campaign growth.

“This strategic transition represents an exciting new chapter for That Flower Feeling,” said Chris Drummond, Board Chair of That Flower Feeling Foundation. “By bringing Joe Don Zetzsche’s incredible energy, advocacy, and deep industry relationships to the forefront as our chief spokesperson, while retaining Vanessa Leite’s invaluable operational, fundraising, and Unit Sales expertise, we are ensuring 100% continuity. Vanessa has built an exceptional, world-class organizational and program infrastructure for TFF, and we are incredibly excited that she will remain deeply involved in guiding our operations. This agile structure allows us to keep our administrative footprint lean, meaning every dollar our partners invest goes directly to driving consumer demand through ‘Just Add Flowers.’ We have never been in a stronger position to scale our outreach.”

Joe Don Zetzsche brings a wealth of national industry leadership to his new role. As Interim Executive Director, Zetzsche will oversee high-level fundraising, board and donor relations, and act as the primary public-facing representative for the Foundation at national trade shows and floral events. He will work closely with Leite over a structured transition period to master the organization’s donor database and strategic operations.

“From a financial stewardship perspective, this transition is an absolute win-win for our donors and partners,” stated Anna Rose Baca, Secretary/Treasurer of the Foundation. “Adopting this highly efficient operational framework is a proactive, disciplined approach to financial management. It ensures that as we march toward our $1.6 million annual fundraising target, our administrative footprint remains exceptionally low. Our industry supporters can have absolute confidence that their investments are going directly toward driving consumer demand, guaranteeing maximum marketing impact and permanent campaign sustainability.”

A Five-Year Milestone: A Call for Collective Industry Support

For five years, That Flower Feeling has organized national digital marketing campaigns that have successfully shifted consumer behavior, embedding fresh flowers into the daily routines of millions of Americans. To sustain and expand this incredible momentum, the Foundation is calling on all segments of the global floral supply chain—growers, importers, wholesalers, retailers, and allied partners—to continue their vital investments and fully back the campaign.

“Our campaign has been thriving for five years, proving that when the industry stands together, we can collectively expand our market share,” added Drummond. “However, to keep this momentum going, we need everyone to back this effort. Continued, consistent investment is what fuels our outreach and keeps flowers at the forefront of the consumer mind. Now is the time to strengthen our commitment.”

Under the new operational structure:

• Joe Don Zetzsche (Interim Executive Director) will lead the Foundation’s strategic growth, major donor stewardship, and public industry advocacy.
• Vanessa Leite (Interim Admin Director) will maintain back-office administration, compliance, donor CRM oversight, fundraising strategy implementation, and Unit Sales program management, while providing direct mentoring to the staff and preserving the operational architecture she successfully built.
• Madison Greene (Communications & Programs Manager) will continue in her dedicated role, leading primary agency and vendor relations, coordinating national tradeshows and consumer pop-up events, overseeing backend Unit Sales program administration, and directing scheduled donor impact communications.
• Stephany Guimaraes (Social Media & Admin Manager) will transition to a full-time role managing TFF’s consumer and professional social media networks, coordinating external creative assets, and driving B2B digital footprint and board administrative infrastructure.

This streamlined model ensures that the creative and strategic execution of the “Just Add Flowers” campaign remains fully supported by a dedicated, full-time staff, while the leadership team focuses on expanding fundraising pipelines and corporate sponsorships across the mass market, vendor, and hardgoods sectors.

For more information about That Flower Feeling Foundation or to learn how to participate in the funding program, please visit www.thatflowerfeeling.org. 

About That Flower Feeling  

That Flower Feeling is a national, industry-funded 501(c)(6) marketing initiative founded by CalFlowers and supported by growers, importers, wholesalers, hardgoods suppliers, and retailers across the floral supply chain.  Its mission is to increase U.S. floral consumption by positioning fresh flowers as an easy, accessible form of everyday happiness. Through its “Just Add Flowers” campaign and free marketing toolkit, That Flower Feeling provides turnkey creative assets and messaging that any floral business can use to drive demand and remind consumers they “don’t need a reason” to bring flowers home.

For more information or to become a contributor, visit thatflowerfeeling.org.