Sophia Eccleston
Army Veteran and Jamaican national, Sophia Eccleston is a member of the External Affairs team at Florida Power and Light Company (FPL).
As a Senior External Affairs (EA) manager in Palm Beach County, Sophia is responsible for advocating with local elected officials and key community stakeholders on behalf of FPL. Prior to joining EA, she worked as a solar developer and developed universal solar energy centers located in Desoto, Manatee and Charlotte counties.
Sophia served more than four years in the military on both active and reserve duty. She was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany and Savannah, Georgia. While in the military, she supported the peace keeping mission in Bosnia. She was also responsible for managing equipment and supplies for the 95th Military Police Battalion and the 224th Military Intelligence Battalion.
Along with her military experience, Sophia also worked for Halliburton and KBR Inc., in the Middle East and Africa. Two of her most notable roles were negotiating multimillion-dollar contracts to build infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan for the United States military and starting up the first Regional Expediting Department located Dubai. She also oversaw KBR expediting offices in Jordan and Turkey. Sophia built a team that managed millions of dollars in equipment and supplies supporting the U.S. military throughout the Middle East and Africa.
Sophia currently serves as the 2022 Chair of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. She was appointed to the commission by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. In 2020, she was appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to the CareerSource Florida Board, where she currently serves on the executive committee. In 2019, she was also appointed by the governor to the newly formed Florida Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. She currently serves on multiple board of directors, including the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach County Homeless Advisory Board, and the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce. She also serves on the Florida Bar Grievance committee and the Health Care District of Palm Beach County’s Finance committee. Her prior board membership includes Executive Women of the Palm Beaches Foundation, Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce, Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, and the Wounded Veteran Relief Fund, as well as others.
In 2021, Sophia was awarded the Diamond award by the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce. She was awarded the Change Agent award by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, South Palm Beach Chapter. In 2019, she was honored as a “Community Influencer” by the Achievement Centers for Children and Families. In 2018, Sophia was named by Legacy Magazine of South Florida as one of South Florida’s Most Powerful and Influential Black Business Leaders. In 2017, Sophia was honored by the City of West Palm Beach as a “Hometown Hero.” She was a finalist for the 2017 Greater Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce Athena Leadership Awards.
Sophia has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and an MBA with a concentration in Organizational Psychology and Development. She is a certified organizational development professional (OD) and holds a Lean Sig Sigma green belt certification. She completed a training program on Leadership and Negotiations from Harvard Law School and is also an alumna of Leadership Palm Beach County. Sophia is single and has one adult son. Sophia resides in Wellington, FL, and she enjoys traveling the world during her time off.
