Influential Women spotlights LaSandra Boykin’s community impact leadership

Influential Women featured LaSandra Boykin, a Jacksonville-based corporate social impact executive with more than 20 years of experience in transportation and healthcare. The profile highlights her approach to community engagement, mentorship and leadership, along with her work on a white paper and upcoming book about presence versus programs.

Why it matters: - LaSandra Boykin’s career shows how corporate social responsibility can move beyond one-off programs and become part of day-to-day business. - Her work highlights a broader shift in how companies think about community engagement, employee leadership and long-term trust. - Boykin also represents the growing influence of executives who connect business strategy with social impact.

What happened: - Influential Women featured LaSandra Boykin, a Jacksonville, Florida-based corporate social impact and community engagement leader. - Boykin has more than 20 years of experience across transportation and healthcare. - Her most recent role was Director of Community Investments and Vice President, CSX Foundation at CSX. - Her career has included leadership roles at Delta Air Lines, Norfolk Southern, a Georgia-based healthcare organization and CSX.

The details: - Boykin started her career at Delta Air Lines, where she worked for more than a decade on corporate initiatives, employee engagement and community partnerships. - She retired from Delta in 2020 as one of the company’s youngest employees to retire. - Boykin describes her career path as “planes, trains, brains—and then back to trains,” reflecting moves across aviation, rail, healthcare and back to transportation. - She has traveled to 75 countries and taken part in international leadership programs in Israel and Georgia. - Boykin lived in Zurich, Switzerland, where she helped establish operations for a growing technology solutions company. - She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. - She earned an artificial intelligence certification from the University of North Florida. - Boykin is working on a white paper and an upcoming book about presence versus programs in community engagement. - She serves on the Board of Operation New Uniform in Jacksonville, which supports veterans and military spouses moving into civilian careers. - Boykin enjoys traveling, attending sporting events and working toward a boating license.

Between the lines: - Boykin’s core message is that community impact works best when it is integrated across an organization, not isolated in one department. - She argues that executive leaders, communications teams, employees and business units all need to share responsibility for meaningful change. - Her emphasis on “presence versus programs” suggests a critique of surface-level corporate philanthropy in favor of consistent relationship-building. - Her personal story and mentorship experiences reinforce a leadership style built on preparation, self-advocacy and treating people well. - Boykin credits her parents and mentors with shaping her focus on integrity, resilience and opportunity creation.

What’s next: - Boykin’s writing projects are expected to expand her thought leadership on authentic community engagement. - Her work will continue to center on helping organizations move from short-term initiatives to sustained relationships. - She plans to keep building mentorship networks and supporting women entering the field.

The bottom line: - Boykin’s profile frames corporate social impact as a people-first discipline, where lasting results come from trust, consistency and showing up for communities over time. - More information is available through LaSandra Boykin’s profile.