Derek Zitko currently serves as the Change Realization Manager at the Mosaic Company, where he has worked in Continuous Improvement and Operations since 2015.
Prior to Mosaic, LTC(R) Zitko served 21 years with the United States Army in various leadership positions in Germany, South Korea and throughout the United States and including multiple deployments to the Balkans and the Middle East.
The son of teachers, Derek has had a life-long passion for children and education. Upon retirement from the Army, Derek and his wife, Dawn, began fostering children in Hillsborough County and continue as foster parents today. They have been blessed by more than 20 children joining their family for various periods of time and have adopted 4 children from the system of care. In addition to leading his church’s high school youth group, Derek volunteers with the Hillsborough Impact and Barrington Middle School Unite programs, where he facilitates and instructs at schools throughout the county.
Derek, Dawn and their 8 children live in Lithia, where the preponderance of free time is filled with soccer games, gymnastics, spontaneous dance parties. laughter and love.