Lee County Port Authority Welcomes New Chief Human Resources Officer

Bonnie McFarland, SHRM-SCP, CEBS, SPHR, has joined the Lee County Port Authority as Chief Human Resources Officer. As CHRO, she will be responsible for overseeing all activities related to employee matters at Southwest Florida International Airport and Page Field in Fort Myers, including working with members of the executive management team to build and manage organizational development, policies and programs, compensation, benefits, performance management, employee relations, recruiting, hiring and retention, as well as compliance with federal, state and local laws.  

McFarland brings more than 20 years of human resources experience to LCPA, with a background in recruitment and retention, benefits and compensation, as well as successful leadership and team development. Most recently, she was a senior client service consultant for MetLife. Before that, McFarland spent more than 12 years with the School District of Lee County as the director of insurance and benefits management and the seven years prior with the City of Cape Coral as the benefits manager.

She is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management, International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans and the Florida Educational Risk Managers Association, where she served as president in 2017-18 and as a board member from 2013 to 2017.

McFarland has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas and a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. McFarland received her SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Professional) certification from the Society of Human Resources in 2015, her CEBS (Certified Employee Benefits Specialist) designation in 2010 and SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) designation since 2002.