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Michael W. Sole, Chairman:
Director of DEP, Secretary Sole has served the Department since
1991, most recently as Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs
and Energy where he spearheaded the 2006 Florida Energy Act to
diversify the state’s fuel supply and promote energy
conservation. Before that, Secretary Sole served as the
Department’s chief of staff and also as the director of the
Division of Waste Management. A long time advocate for Florida’s
environment, Secretary Sole began his career in environmental
protection as a biological scientist for the Florida Department
of Natural Resources. |
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David “Lane” Green, Vice Chairman: Executive Director of the
nonprofit Tall Timbers Research Station, an organization dedicated to
wildlife research and conservation activity. Tall Timbers promotes
ecological understanding and good stewardship of our natural resources.
Mr. Green has also directed the Red Hills Conservation Association, the
Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, and was a teacher and
principal for eight years. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from
Florida State University and lives on a family homestead outside of
Tallahassee that dates back to the 1860s. |
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Tom Pelham: Serving for the second time in its history as Secretary
of the Department of Community Affairs, Mr. Pelham is an attorney and a
certified planner. He played a central role in the initial
implementation of the 1985 Growth Management Act. For that service as
Secretary, Mr. Pelham received awards and recognitions from numerous
organizations, including the Florida Chapter of the American Planning
Association and 1000 Friends of Florida, and in 1990 was named the
Florida Audubon Society's Conservationist of the Year. He has more than
thirty years of experience in working with Florida's planning, growth
management, and environmental programs in a variety of capacities,
including in private practice and as a Tallahassee-Leon County planning
commissioner, teacher, and writer. |
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Ken Haddad: Executive Director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission since 2001. He is responsible for the management of the FWC
and serves a seven-member Commission that has rule-making authority. He
also serves as Chairman of the Science Coordinating Group of the
Everglades Restoration Task Force, is a member of the Executive
Committee of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, President of
the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and
secretary-treasurer of the Wildlife Foundation of Florida. He has also
directed the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg. He has
a Masters of Science in marine science from the University of South
Florida and a B.S. in biology from Presbyterian College. |
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Jim Karels: Mr. Karels is the newly
appointed Director for the Florida Division of Forestry. This position oversees all wildland fire and land management activities within the
Florida Division of Forestry. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Management. Jim
has over 27 years of experience in wildfire response and land management with the US Forest Service and the Florida Division of Forestry. |
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Fred Gaske: Director of the Division of Historical Resources of the
Florida Department of State, and responsible for the primary state
agency promoting the historical, archaeological, and folk culture
resources in Florida. Mr. Gaske served as Acting Director of the
Division of Historical Resources from January 2004 and was appointed to
the post in May 2004. He began his work at the Florida Department of
State as a special project assistant in the Florida Master Site File in
1981. He has a bachelor of arts degree in history from Syracuse
University, and a master of arts degree in anthropology from Florida
State University with a specialization in historical archaeology. |
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Christine Klena: The statewide director of government affairs in
Florida for the firm of CH2M Hill. Based in Tallahassee, she is the
firm’s primary point of contact with the Florida legislature, executive
branch and state agencies. She has nearly 20 years of experience working
in government and community relations. Before joining CH2M Hill in 2004,
she served as the Florida Government Affairs Director for the Trust for
Public Land. She is a graduate of Florida State University. She also
briefly served on the state’s Environmental Regulation Commission as an
appointee of the Governor. |
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VACANT |
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Vickie Larson: Director of the environmental research firm of
Ecospatial Analysts. She has 22 years of science experience in the
Indian River Lagoon region ranging from seagrass and fisheries science
to wetland and terrestrial characterization, monitoring, and
restoration. For 13 years of she had direct involvement in environmental
and ecological projects for NASA at Kennedy Space Center that included
the ecology of wetlands, wildlife, fire and wildlife ecology, and land
use planning. Ms. Larson has a M.S. in Ecology from Florida Tech and is
a Certified Florida Environmental Assessor (CFEA). |
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