Board Members

John D. Baker, II joined the Board in 1986 and is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FRP Holdings, Inc. From February 2008 until October 2010, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc. Before joining Patriot, Mr. Baker was president and Chief Executive Officer of Florida Rock Industries, Inc., a leading producer of construction aggregates and related materials throughout the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.

Mr. Baker is Chairman of regional utility Jacksonville Electric Authority Board and has previously served on the board of directors of Wells Fargo & Company, Jacksonville Port Authority, Progress Energy, Vulcan Materials, Texas Industries, Hughes Supply and Edward Waters College. Mr. Baker maintains leadership roles in several community educational organizations including Tiger Academy, KIPP Jacksonville, Inc., and the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast.

Mr. Baker received a B.A. degree from Princeton University and graduated with honors from the University of Florida School of Law.

David deVilliers, Jr. is the President and Chief Operating Officer of both FRP Development Corp. and Florida Rock Properties, Inc.  He has served in these capacities since the creation of FRP Development in 1988.   David has over 45 years of experience in all phases of residential and commercial real estate development, including acquisition, entitlements, infrastructure construction, building construction, leasing/sales, and property management.  Relevant professional experience includes: Graduate of the Realtors Institute in 1981; Maryland Real Estate Broker’s license since 1988; past member of NAIOP’s Developers Council.  David was elected President of FRP Holdings, Inc. in February 2015.

David received a B.A. degree in Business Administration from Roanoke College.

Martin “Hap” Stein joined the Board in 1992. Hap is Executive Chairman of Regency Centers Corp. He served as CEO from the company’s initial public offering in 1993 until 2020.

Hap served as 2008 chairman of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. He holds or has held other leadership positions with the Urban Land Institute and the Real Estate Roundtable, as well as board positions with Stein Mart and Washington and Lee University. He serves on the Jacksonville Civic Council and has chaired United Way fundraising.

Mr. Stein received a B.A. degree from Washington and Lee University and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Bill Walton joined the Board in 2015. Bill is co-founder and managing member of Rockpoint Group, LLC, a global real estate private equity firm which sponsors real estate investment funds capitalized by domestic and foreign institutional investors.  Mr. Walton is responsible for the overall operations and management of Rockpoint, as well as overseeing the origination, structuring and asset management of all of Rockpoint’s investment activities.

In the real estate industry, Mr. Walton serves on the boards of Boston Properties and Crow Holdings, and he is a former director of Corporate Office Properties Trust and the St. Joe Company. He also serves or has served as a Director or Trustee on the Boards of several non-profit organizations, with a particular interest in educational and policy entities, including the American Enterprise Institute, Communities in Schools, the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute, KIPP Schools Jacksonville, Mpala Wildlife Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the University of Florida Investment Corporation, Princeton University and Princeton University Investment Company.

Mr. Walton received a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Margaret Wetherbee joined the Board in 2019. She practiced law in the commercial real estate department of Rogers Towers, P.A. from 1998-2008.  Mrs. Wetherbee’s practice focused on the representation of clients engaged in the acquisition, development, sale, and finance of commercial real estate projects.

Margaret is currently involved as a board member with several non-profit organizations in her hometown of Thomasville, Georgia.

Mrs. Wetherbee received a B.A. degree from Davidson College and a J.D. from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.

John S. Surface joined the Board on April 1, 2022.  Mr. Surface is the Chief Executive Officer of Covius Services and a member of the board of directors of Covius Holdings, Inc.  Mr. Surface previously had an 18-year tenure at EverBank Financial Corp, where he served as Senior Executive Vice President responsible for corporate strategy, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions and new growth initiatives.  Mr. Surface’s business and leadership experience brings to the FRP Board valuable insights regarding business strategy and management.

Mr. Surface currently serves on the board of trustees of The Bolles School and has served on the boards of directors of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Habijax, LISC Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History.  He also previously served as a member of the Williams School Board of Advisors for Washington & Lee University.

Mr. Surface received a B.S. in Business Management, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Washington and Lee University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Nicole B. Thomas joined the FRP Board on April 1, 2022.  Ms. Thomas is the hospital president of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville and is responsible for the operational and strategic direction of the largest hospital in the health system.  Ms. Thomas brings valuable experience in shaping diversity, inclusion and social responsibility policies, a proven track record of leadership, and diversity to the FRP Board.

Ms. Thomas serves on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Tiger Academy Jacksonville and serves on the OneJax Advisory Board.  Ms. Thomas has held several roles with Baptist Health since joining in 2011, including co-chairing its diversity, equity, and inclusion council, chairing its transformation council, serving as senior vice president of specialty services overseeing neurosciences, orthopedics, and oncology, with primary executive responsibility for the formation of Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2015, and since 2016, serving as Baptist Medical Center South’s president.  Prior to joining Baptist Health, she was assistant vice president of Physician Operations for St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in Houston, and operations administrator at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.

A fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, Ms. Thomas was named among Modern Healthcare magazine’s Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare in 2018 and 2020 and one of 70 African American leaders in health care to know by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2020.

Matthew S. McAfee joined the Board on March 6, 2024.  Mr. McAfee is a founding partner of Driver McAfee Hawthorne & Diebenow PLLC.  Mr. McAfee’s practice focuses primarily in the area of real estate and finance where he represents buyers, sellers, developers, lenders, and tenants in commercial real estate law, acquisitions and dispositions, commercial development, and commercial leasing.  Mr. McAfee has extensive experience in real estate project finance, including joint ventures, securitized debt, preferred equity and mezzanine financing.

Mr. McAfee previously served as past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and the Tree Hill Nature Center.  He is a former Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville and other civic and charitable organizations.  He is also a member of the Leadership Jacksonville, Class of 2006.

Mr. McAfee received a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University and a J.D. with high honors from the University of Florida Levin School of Law.