Shows / Fluent in Floridian
Fluent in Floridian
Fluent in Floridian is a podcast featuring the Sunshine State's brightest leaders talking about the issues most important to the people of Florida and its more than 100 million yearly visitors. These issues include health care, economic development, environmental protection, transportation, tourism, politics, taxes, education, energy and more.
Episodes
- Fluent in Floridian
68. Institute for Justice Research and Development Founder + Executive Director Dr. Carrie Pettus-Davis
Dr. Carrie Pettus-Davis devoted most of her career to improving the lives of formerly incarcerated people. Her five key approach prepares them to be job ready…
- Fluent in Floridian
67. No Kid Hungry Florida Director Sky Beard
Today, more than 22.7% of children in Florida live in "food insecure" homes. No Kid Hungry Florida is working to eradicate this statistic for good by providing…
- Fluent in Floridian
66. Florida Rights Restoration Coalition President Desmond Meade
In 2019, Desmond Meade was featured in TIME magazine's Top 100 Most Influential list for his leading efforts to empower and civically re-engage local…
- Fluent in Floridian
65. U.S. Senator and Author George LeMieux
George LeMieux's passion for politics began at an early age when a pivotal moment made him realize that being a part of public office can be truly impactful…
- Fluent in Floridian
64. Flagler College President Dr. Joe Joyner
Flagler College President Dr. Joseph Joyner is a third-generation educator and his passion for the classroom has been the guiding force of his career. From…
- Fluent in Floridian
63. International Speedway Corporation VP of Sales and Marketing Frank Kelleher
NASCAR fans, this one's for you. This week on Fluent in Floridian, Daytona International Speedway Corporation & NASCAR Southeastern Region President Frank…
- Fluent in Floridian
62. Who is A Florida Leader You Admire?
At the end of every Fluent in Floridian podcast, we ask our guests the same four questions. One of those questions is "Who is a Florida leader that you…
- Fluent in Floridian
61. Florida Director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Susan Glickman
Growing up in Tampa as a young girl, Susan Glickman had a childhood that created a heart for advocacy. As a child, she saw her father open one of the few…
- Fluent in Floridian
60. Astronaut Norm Thagard
At 75 years young, Dr. Norman E. Thagard is a Floridian whose work has been immortalized in history books. While he jokes about being a foot-note on Sally…
- Fluent in Floridian
59. Florida Polytechnic President Dr. Randy Avent
Florida Polytechnic University President Dr. Randy Avent embodies what it means to bring application to education. A longtime researcher, Dr. Avent has led the…
- Fluent in Floridian
58. Orlando Director of Sustainability and Resilience, Chris Castro
Albert Einstein famously said, "we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." Thinking differently has never been a…
- Fluent in Floridian
57. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer
The man who never saw himself in local politics has presided over one of the most vibrant, up-and-coming cities in the Southeast. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has…
- Fluent in Floridian
56. State Representative Anna Eskamani
You've never met a legislator like Representative Anna Eskamani. The first Iranian-American to hold public office in Florida ran a campaign rooted in her…
- Fluent in Floridian
55. Florida Sports Foundation President Angela Suggs
The Super Bowl is coming! The Special Olympics are coming! The World Cup is (potentially) coming! Angela Suggs is the Paul Revere of Florida sports. In her…
- Fluent in Floridian
54. Longtime Republican Operative, Mac Stipanovich
Mac Stipanovich is known throughout Florida as a Republican cognoscente, so when he penned an open letter to his fellow Republicans in 2016 imploring them to…
- Fluent in Floridian
53. Former Director of the Office of Medical Marijuana, Christian Bax
The fastest growing sector in the United States job market isn't technology or real estate. It's marijuana. Christian Bax, former director of Florida's Office…
- Fluent in Floridian
52. Florida A&M University President, Dr. Larry Robinson
Dr. Larry Robinson has been a steadfast presence at Florida A&M University since joining the faculty as a visiting professor in 1997. A nuclear chemist and…
- Fluent in Floridian
51. Larry Keefe, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
One of three U.S. Attorneys for the state of Florida, Larry Keefe has spent his life setting and achieving his goals as the result of hard work and great…
- Fluent in Floridian
50. Miami-Dade County Chief Resilience Officer, Jim Murley
"The future 100 years of Southeast Florida will be about managing the water relevant to the land, building vertically, and connecting them with elevated…
- Fluent in Floridian
49. Tampa Bay Times Editor of Editorials Tim Nickens
Since he was in the eighth grade, Tim Nickens knew he would be a journalist. What began as a dream to become a sports writer turned into a 35-year career…
- Fluent in Floridian
48. Florida Conservation Voters Executive Director, Aliki Moncrief
Sea level rise. Unprecedented super storms. Toxic algae blooms. The effects of climate change on Florida's environment have become increasingly overt in the…
- Fluent in Floridian
47. Film Florida Executive Director John Lux
John Lux got his start in Florida working for Walt Disney World, but after leaving the mouse's house, he was drawn to a career in film production. Since…
- Fluent in Floridian
46. Everglades CEO Eric Eikenberg
When Eric Eikenberg graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, he had little idea who Stoneman Douglas was, or that he would be walking in her…
Fluent in Floridian45. Alyson Sologaistoa, Senior Director of Public Relations, Universal Orlando
From top to bottom, the state of Florida is filled with distinctly 'Floridian' features, yet in one corner of Orlando it's possible to experience the sights…
- Fluent in Floridian
44. Orlando Sentinel Columnist Scott Maxwell
A transplant from tar-heel country, Scott Maxwell has spent the better part of the last two decades reporting for the Orlando Sentinel as the Taking Names…
- Fluent in Floridian
43. Former Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Ashley Moody
Growing up in Plant City during the 1980's, Ashley Moody's life was surrounded by family, faith, community, and the town's singular McDonald's restaurant. Who…
- Fluent in Floridian
42. State Representative Sean Shaw
Some kids grow up wanting to be an astronaut or a firefighter, but as Sean Shaw grew up in Tallahassee, his vision of the future was shaped by his after-school…
- Fluent in Floridian
41. State Representative Matt Caldwell
Since the early 1800s, Matt Caldwell's family has had roots in Florida. Today, Matt is staying true to those roots and running for Florida's Commissioner of…
- Fluent in Floridian
40. Florida Market President for Devoted Health, Dariel Quintana
Love and family. Devoted Health, a start-up launching Medicare Advantage plans in 2019, aims to connect those words with healthcare. In this episode, Dariel…
- Fluent in Floridian
39. University of Florida President, Kent Fuchs
Born in Oklahoma, raised in Alaska, attended high school in Miami and college at Duke: not the path you would expect from the twelfth president of the…
- Fluent in Floridian
38. Florida Police Chiefs Association Executive Director, Amy Mercer
It isn't often someone can go from executive assistant to executive director, but since starting with the Florida Police Chiefs Association in 1999, that's…
- Fluent in Floridian
37. Visit Florida President & CEO, Ken Lawson
Bringing with him his Marine background and homegrown Florida story, Ken Lawson has taken VisitFlorida in a bold, refreshing, and transparent direction…
- Fluent in Floridian
36. FSU Heisman Winner & Former New York Knicks Guard, Charlie Ward
As one of Florida State's three Heisman trophy winner, Charlie Ward left Tallahassee to play professional basketball with the New York knicks as their starting…
- Fluent in Floridian
35. Real Florida Author and Journalist, Jeff Klinkenberg
A journalist for four-decades at the Tampa Bay Times, Jeff Klinkenberg has the kind of job that most people dream of. His column, Real Florida, began in 1986…
- Fluent in Floridian
34. Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida President & CEO, Doug Sessions
He has served under Florida Governor Askew and with the New York Yankees, but over the past two-and-a-half decades, Doug Sessions has found the most success as…
- Fluent in Floridian
33. Former Miami Beach Mayor, Philip Levine
A hopeful, hard-working, Boston-transplant, Philip Levine will be the first to say he wasn't a 'stellar student,' instead, he would probably attribute his…
- Fluent in Floridian
32. Florida State Senator Denise Grimsley
A fifth-generation Floridian, still living on the same piece of property that she grew up on in Zolfo Springs, Denise Grimsley knows a thing or two about…
- Fluent in Floridian
31. Constitutional Revision Commissioner, Brecht Heuchan
In a fertile ground for political careers, Brecht Heuchan took a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Florida State, an internship with the…
- Fluent in Floridian
30. Pulitzer Prize Winning Reporter, Lucy Morgan
Lucy Morgan is NOT your typical Florida retiree. A long-time veteran of the Florida journalism industry, Lucy has both reported news, as well as made news…
- Fluent in Floridian
29. UF Professor & Author, Mary Adkins
It isn't just Florida's enticing attractions and vast ecological diversity that make this state stand out. Florida is also the only state in the union to have…
- Fluent in Floridian
28. Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis
In Panama City Beach, there's a famous seafood restaurant called Capt. Anderson's. Owned by the Patronis family since it opened, Capt. Anderson's has been…
- Fluent in Floridian
27. U.S. Representative & Former Governor Charlie Crist
You probably know Representative Charlie Crist as the former governor of Florida, and as a current member of the US House of Representatives, representing…
- Fluent in Floridian
26. Orlando Economic Partnership President & CEO, Tim Giuliani
Orlando is one of Florida's most well known tourist destinations and technological hubs, and as such is a major source of revenue for the state. It stands to…
- Fluent in Floridian
25. American Authors Guitarist, James Adam Shelley
If you listened to the radio in 2014, chances are you heard the hit song "Best Day of My Life," meaning you've heard Tallahassee-native James Adam Shelley…
- Fluent in Floridian
24. Hall of Fame Artist, Christopher Still
Christopher Still, whose paintings can be seen in the Governor's Mansion and Smithsonian Institute, has earned acclaim throughout his career for the way in…
- Fluent in Floridian
23. Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, Marshall Criser III
When Marshall Criser III's father left his law practice to serve as the president of the University of Florida, he couldn't wrap his head around the choice. "I…
- Fluent in Floridian
22. Jacksonville Jaguars President, Mark Lamping
While most would consider earning either a World Series or Super Bowl ring to be a career-defining honor, Mark Lamping is one of the very few who can boast…
- Fluent in Floridian
21. Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director, Cissy Proctor
Cissy Proctor can blame her former coworkers for her interest in public service work. Having attended Florida State for her undergraduate and law degrees…
- Fluent in Floridian
20. James Madison Institute President & CEO, Dr. Bob McClure
In today's volatile political climate, it can be hard to "cut through the noise," as Dr. Bob McClure puts it. But Dr. McClure, as the CEO and President of the…
- Fluent in Floridian
19. Civil Rights Attorney, Ben Crump
Described as "today's seminal civil rights lawyer" by Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan, Ben Crump has represented some of the most high profile civil rights…
- Fluent in Floridian
18. Florida Restaurant and Lodging President CEO, Carol Dover
For some college students, a hospitality job is nothing more than a necessity to pay for school. For Carol Dover, it was more than that; it was a stepping…
- Fluent in Floridian
17. President and CEO of Florida Tax Watch, Dominic Calabro
Dominic Calabro has been with TaxWatch, a non-profit non-partisan research institute, so long that he sometimes jokes "There's no life before or after…
- Fluent in Floridian
16. What person, place, or thing in Florida deserves more attention?
At the end of each episode of Fluent in Floridian, we ask our guests four questions, including "What in Florida deserves more attention?" This episode presents…
- Fluent in Floridian
15. Former FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate
Over the course of his career as FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate oversaw more than 500 presidentially-declared major disasters and emergencies, including…
- Fluent in Floridian
14. Miami Herald Capital Bureau Chief, Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald Capital Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas is a celebrated journalist within the sunshine state. She notes that her interest in journalism was sparked…
- Fluent in Floridian
13. Holland & Knight Retired Senior Partner, Martha Barnett
Martha Barnett is one of the Sunshine State's most influential lawyers. A graduate of both Tulane University and the University of Florida, Barnett was a…
- Fluent in Floridian
12. Orange County Sheriff, Jerry Demings
Orange County Sheriff Jerry L. Demings is dedicated to serving and protecting his Florida community. A former Chief of the Orlando Police Department and…
- Fluent in Floridian
11. NY Times Bestselling Author, TB Times Reporter, Craig Pittman
New York Times Bestselling author and Tampa Bay Times reporter Craig Pittman is a celebrated journalist and storyteller in the sunshine state. A Florida native…
- Fluent in Floridian
10. ACLU of Florida Executive Director, Howard Simon
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon is a prominent fighter for American rights and freedoms. Simon began his work…
- Fluent in Floridian
9. Florida Attorney General, Pam Bondi
A prominent attorney and outspoken politician, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has a strong history of fighting for the progression of our Sunshine State…