A native of Cuba, Maruchi immigrated to the United States with her family in 1960 due to the effects of the Castro revolution. She attended school in Plant City, Florida and graduated from Plant City Senior High School, as an honor student where she was named
Rita M. Barreto, founder, and president of Top Tier Leadership headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida…
Commissioner Melanie Parrish Bonanno was appointed to the Commission in 2020 by Attorney General Ashley Moody. She is the Director of Employment Law for Publix Super Markets, Inc. She has worked as an attorney for Publix since 2003 and has served in her current role since 2016, leading a team of attorneys, managers…
Commissioner Jennifer Houghton Canady of Lakeland was appointed to the Commission in 2017 by Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. She is the Director of the RISE Institute…
Lori Day of St. Johns, was appointed to the Commission on 2020 by Speaker of the House Jose Oliva. She is a corporate executive and entrepreneur with diverse leadership in executive coaching, process engineering, operations, leadership…
Commissioner Denise D. Dell-Powell is Of Counsel in the Orlando office of Dean Mead where she practices in the firm’s bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, distressed property, and inventory finance litigation.
Commissioner and Army Veteran Sophia Eccleston is a member of the External Affairs team at Florida Power and Light Company (FPL). As an External Affairs (EA) manager in Palm Beach County…
Commissioner Candace Falsetto of Coral Gables was appointed to the Commission by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2020. She…
Florida State Representative Heather Fitzenhagen was appointed to the Commission in 2017 by Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran. Originally from….
Stephanie Goforth is Executive Vice President and the Global Head of Sales and Marketing of the Wealth Management business unit at Northern Trust and has recently….
Commissioner Gayle Harrell has over 25 years of experience in healthcare. She has worked as a Healthcare Administrator, managing the Ob-Gyn. practice of Dr. James E. Harrell and was the founder…
Commissioner Karin Hoffman is the founder and CEO of Key Innovative Solutions, a firm that is committed to unlocking work-based learning opportunities. Her focus is to expand…
Carol Kuntz was appointed to the Florida Commission on the Status of Women in 2018 by Florida Governor Rick Scott….
Commissioner Wenda Lewis was appointed to the Commission in 2014 by Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. Commissioner Lewis currently serves as…
Commissioner Roxey Nelson was appointed to the Commission in 2020 by Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried. She is currently the vice president and assistant regional director…
Commissioner Rosie Paulsen was appointed to the Commission in 2019 by Senate President Bill Galvano. She has been honored as one of the…
Commissioner Cara Carlton Perry was appointed in 2017 by Senate President Joe Negron. She is the Assistant Vice President of Communication for Florida Atlantic University’s Northern Campuses…
Jenna Persons was appointed to the Commission in 2017 by Senate President Joe Negron. As a partner in the law firm of Strayhorn & Persons, she takes pride in her work and being a part of projects that will…
Commissioner Rachel Saunders Plakon was appointed by Speaker Richard Corcoran. She is the Land Specialist with NAI Realvest, a top commercial real estate brokerage in Central Florida…
Marilyn Stout of Cape Coral was appointed to the Commission in 2018 by Attorney General Pam Bondi. She moved to Cape Coral…
Lady Dhyana Ziegler DCJ, Ph.D. of Tallahassee was appointed to the Commission by Governor Rick Scott. Lady Dr. Dhyana Ziegler, DCJ is currently the President and CEO of Z/Creators, LLC. She has worked in the field of higher education and technology for more than 35 years. Previously, Dr. Ziegler…