Personnel File- People on the Move,

July 15, 2019

NSF Staff

STACY YOUMANS has been appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as a judge in the 5th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter counties. Youmans, of Ocala, has been a partner at Blanchard, Merriam, Adel & Kirkland since 2008.

JOHN GRANT AND WILLIE MEGGS have been appointed or reappointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Florida Commission on Ethics. Grant, of Tampa, has been an attorney with Tampa Estate Planners Law Firm for more than 41 years and is a former member of the Florida House and the Florida Senate. Meggs, of Tallahassee, is a retired state attorney in the 2nd Judicial Circuit.

JOEL SCHLEICHER has been appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Schleicher, of Sarasota, is executive chairman of Focal Point Data Risk.

KATHERINE SAN PEDRO AND JESSE BITER have been appointed or reappointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Enterprise Florida Board of Directors. San Pedro, of Miami, is a partner at Ballard Partners. Biter, of Sarasota, is president and CEO of Biter Enterprises, a real estate development company.

LIZBETH BENACQUISTO AND LINDA STEWART have been appointed by Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, to the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, represents District 27 in the Florida Senate. Stewart, D-Orlando, represents District 13.

PATRICIA WILLIAMS has been appointed by House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, to the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet. Williams, D-Lauderdale Lakes, represents District 92 in the Florida House.

DAVID METELLUS has been hired as campaign manager for the Florida Senate campaign of state Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park. Mettellus’ previous positions have included deputy organizing director for Democrat Andrew Gillum’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign.

JEFFREY HENDRIKS has been appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as a St. Lucie County judge. Hendriks, of Port St. Lucie, has been a major crimes prosecutor for the 19th Circuit State Attorney’s Office since 2016. 

NICOLE WASHINGTON has been appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Miami Dade College Board of Trustees. Washington, of Miami Beach, is the principal at Washington Strategies, LLC, an education consulting firm.

LINDA STOCH AND DANIELLE PAYNE have been appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Governor’s Mansion Commission. Stoch, of Palm Beach Gardens, is a retired owner of Innovative Interiors by Linda. Payne, of Winter Park, is an executive board member of Metro Corral Partners.

JOHN MEEKS, TERRY BURROUGHS AND RUSSELL MELENDY have moved into officer positions with the Small County Coalition. Meeks, a Levy County commissioner, is chairman of the coalition. Burroughs, an Okeechobee County commissioner, is vice-chairman. Melendy, of Hardee County, is secretary.

MARIO FAMADA AND DONALD CESARONE JR. have been appointed or reappointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Construction Industry Licensing Board. Famada, of Miami, is the owner of City Roofing and Construction, Inc. Cesarone, of Sunrise, is vice president of the commercial division for Van Kirk and Sons, Inc.

DAVID DENKIN has received the Chief Justice Award for Judicial Excellence, presented by Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady. Denkin has served as a Sarasota County judge since 2003.

CULLEN CORAINE has been named by Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Florida Association of School Resource Officers as School Resource Officer of the Year. Coraine is a deputy with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

DAMIAN PARDO has been named interim executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group SAVE. Pardo served as founding chair of SAVE in 1993.

MIKE MORAN has been named executive director of the Florida PACE Funding Agency, which provides financing for homeowners to do energy-conservation and hurricane-hardening improvements. Moran is a Sarasota County commissioner and a partner in an insurance agency.

BETH HOUGHTON has been appointed chief executive officer of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. Houghton has served as St. Petersburg Free Clinic chief executive officer for eight years. 

--- Got a new chief of staff, executive director, campaign manager, press secretary, spokesperson or otherwise important new person in your office or organization? The News Service welcomes personnel announcements, which are aggregated for periodic publication. Please send announcements to j.saunders@newsserviceflorida.com and include contact information.