Eric Roby’s face is one that is known to many South Floridians. As a news anchor on CBS 12 for 17 years, he covered all things Palm Beach County, from the lighter side of life to hard-hitting issues affecting local residents. Now, he’s bringing his knowledge of the area and his passion for serving the community to the Fuller Center as the organization’s new CEO.
“I got into journalism because I wanted to be the voice for the voiceless,” says Roby. “Now I’m in nonprofits because I want to be able to help someone who doesn’t have that voice or needs a little bit of help more directly.”
The transition from a local news anchor to the head of a nonprofit may seem like an unlikely career trajectory, but as Roby will tell you, the jobs have more in common than you might think.
“Nonprofits are very similar to the environment of a newsroom,” says Roby. “There’s never enough time, never enough people, there’s always an emergency, never enough money, and you just gotta roll up your sleeves—it doesn’t matter who you are—and get the job done.”
Roby takes the reins of the organization from Ellyn Okrent, the Fuller Center’s former CEO of 12 years who, during her tenure, significantly increased the organization’s budget and services provided. The next step, Roby says, is continuing to expand Fuller Center’s services and to break out of the “Boca bubble.”
“We like to say that the Fuller Center is the bestkept secret,” says Roby. “We are fairly well-known in Boca Raton, not so well-known outside [of Boca].
“It is a part of my goals to make sure that we’re no longer that best-kept secret. I want other people to know.”
The Fuller Center began as a small, affordable daycare for local laborers more than 50 years ago, but it has since evolved into a comprehensive resource for families, offering reduced-cost out-of-school care, summer camp, education, a myriad of resources for struggling parents, specialized care for children with disabilities, and much more—to a service area that has expanded to more than 60 zip codes from North Miami up to Riviera Beach. As the Fuller Center has grown, so too has the need for its services in Boca Raton.
“It wasn’t [chance] that we grew in this neighborhood, because this is where the population needed us,” says Roby of the area near the Fuller Center’s East Boca campus. “These homes now, surrounding the Fuller Center, are $800,000. So, if you’re just starting out and you’re making frontline working salaries, which 92% of our families are frontline workers, that might not be affordable.”
Being located in Boca Raton also comes with its own advantages, particularly having such a robust donor base. The programs at the Fuller Center are designed to not be self-sufficient so that no costs are passed on to families, a model that has been supported by Boca residents for generations.
“[It’s] the generosity of the Boca Raton community wrapping their arms around this center and making sure that we can flourish year after year,” says Roby. “Without that support, we wouldn’t be here today.”
For Roby, helping these families is paying back dues for the time that was invested in him by mentors throughout his life. A first-generation college student, Roby was able to successfully break the cycle of poverty in his family. His experience has taught him that a better life is just an opportunity away.
“I had so many people that looked out for me that didn’t have to, to make sure that I was able to achieve my goals,” says Roby. “Now it’s my turn to make sure that other children have that same opportunity.”
For more information about the Fuller Center or to make a donation, visit fullercenterfl.org.
This article is from the January 2025 issue of Boca magazine. For more like this, click here to subscribe to the magazine.
