Appointments by Governor DeSantis:
Blockchain Task Force Appointed were Ken Lawson, Tallahassee, secretary of the Department of Economic Opportunity; Jonathan Satter, North Palm Beach, secretary of the Florida Department of Management Services; and Terry L. Rhodes, Tallahassee, executive director of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Chief Resilience Officer Appointed Florida’s first Chief Resilience Officer was Dr. Julia Nesheiwat. Dr. Nesheiwat is a former U.S. deputy assistant Secretary of State and was chief of staff to Special Envoys and the Under Secretary for Energy, Environment and Sustainability.
David Clark Clark has been named deputy chief of staff to the Governor. He most recently was chief of staff for the Department of Management Services.
Florida Board of Medicine Appointed were Kevin Cairns, Fort Lauderdale, owner and attending physician at Florida Spine Specialists; Dr. Shailesh Gupta, Coral Springs, founder and CEO of Specialty Retina Center; Dr. Zachariah Zachariah, Fort Lauderdale, a cardiologist and internal medicine doctor and Medical Director at UHealth Cardiology, Fort Lauderdale and a member of the clinical faculty at the University of Miami; Dr. Scott Ackerman, Jacksonville, a radiation oncologist and Medical Director at Ackerman Cancer Center; and Dr. David Diamond, Winter Park, a radiation oncologist at Florida Radiation Oncology.
Florida Citrus Commission Appointed was Carlos Martinez, Orlando, a procurement manager for The Coca-Cola Company. Reappointed were John Patrick Schirard, Vero Beach, president of GEM Indian River Select; and Jonathan Hancock, Sebring, president and owner of Hancock Citrus, Inc.
Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame Inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame were:
- Daniel Webster Perkins (Jacksonville) Perkins was one of Florida’s first African American attorneys, after officially becoming a member of the Florida Bar in 1914. He is a graduate of North Carolina State College, Temple University and Shaw University School of Law.
- Dr. Charles Ullman Smith (Tallahassee) A civil rights leader and a long-time faculty member at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, he was active in the civil rights movement including the Tallahassee Bus Boycott of 1956 and the lunch counter sit-ins of 1960. In 2016, the 60th anniversary of the Tallahassee Bus Boycott was named in his honor.
- Henry “Hank” James Thomas (Jacksonville) Earning six combat medals including a Purple Heart for his service in the U.S. Army from 1963-1966, Thomas was active in the civil rights movement and one of the original thirteen Freedom Riders.