2018 Reporters’ Workshop Panelists and Speakers AUGUSTUS DAVIS AIKENS, JR. Second Judicial Circuit, County Judge 850-606-4456 [email protected] Judge Augustus Davis Aikens, Jr., chair of The Florida Bar’s Constitutional Judiciary Committee, was appointed by Gov. Lawton Chiles to the Leon County Bench in December 1997. He was re-elected in 2000, 2006 and 2012. Following three years in private practice, Judge Aikens began his career with the state of Florida as assistant general counsel for the Department of Administration in 1978 and was promoted to general counsel in 1985. He also was the chief legal counsel for the Division of State Employees Insurance and Division of Retirement. Judge Aikens was awarded the Bronze Star for his military service during Operation Desert Storm. Before his retirement in 2003 from the Florida Army National Guard, he held the rank of colonel. Judge Aikens served as a military judge, judge advocate, battalion and brigade staff officer, company commander, and had numerous other assignments as a military police and field artillery officer. His last assignment was as staff judge advocate, State Area Command, and Florida Army National Guard. Judge Aikens was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal “for exceptionally meritorious service throughout a long and distinguished career.” Judge Aikens is assigned to handle all Veteran Court cases by Administrative Order 2014-05, Sixth Amendment, effective July 1, 2015. CHARLES T. CANADY Supreme Court of Florida 850-410-8092 [email protected] Chief Justice Charles Canady was born in Lakeland in 1954. He received his B.A. from Haverford College in 1976 and his J.D. from the Yale Law School in 1979. Chief Justice Canady practiced law with the firm of Holland and Knight in Lakeland from 1979 through 1982 and with Lane, Trohn, et al., from 1983 through 1992. From November 1984 to November 1990, Chief Justice Canady served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives, and from January 1993 to January 2001, he served four terms in the United States House of Representatives. Throughout his service in Congress, Chief Justice Canady was a member of the House Judiciary Committee. For three terms, from January 1995 to January 2001, he was chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. After leaving Congress, Chief Justice Canady became general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush. He was appointed by Gov. Bush to the 2nd District Court of Appeal for a term beginning Nov. 20, 2002. On Aug. 28, 2008, he was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Gov. Charlie Crist, and he took office on Sept. 8, 2008. He served as chief justice from July 2010 through June 2012, and was named chief justice again in June 2018. He is married to Jennifer Houghton, and they have two children. BILL COWLES Orange County, Florida, Supervisor of Elections 407-254-6500 [email protected] Bill Cowles has been an integral part of the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office since 1989, after serving 13 years on the staff of the Central Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America. He was elected as the Orange County supervisor of elections in 1996, and re- elected in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. He supervises the fifth-largest county elections office in Florida. Cowles served on the Federal Elections Assistance Commission Board of Advisors from 2007 to 2011. His other professional involvement includes being past president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, and past president of the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials, and Treasurers. Cowles graduated in 1976 with a degree in public administration from the University of Central Florida. He is a member of the Alumni Association Legislative Committee. Cowles is an elder at Quest Church, a board member for the Central Florida Council-BSA, a member of UCF Public Administration Advisory Board and a member and past-president of the Kiwanis Club of North Orlando. He has been married since 1978 to Cheryl and has two married sons and four grandsons. MARK EARLEY Leon County Supervisor of Elections 850-606-8683 [email protected] Mark Earley has been supervisor of elections for Leon County since January 2017. He began his elections career in the fall of 1986 and played an integral role in the adoption of Leon County’s first optical scan paper ballot voting system, which remained in place for more than 20 years. In early 2002, Earley joined a major election systems vendor as senior accounts manager, where he managed accounts across the nation, managed deployment of voting systems and state certifications, and was a member of several system design teams. In 2008, he returned to Leon County, as the voting systems manager for Leon County. He oversaw the acquisition and deployment of Leon County’s state-of-the-art paper ballot voting system and helped consolidate operations from four warehouses and one administrative location into the new Leon County Election Center. Earley has a mechanical engineering degree from the FAMU/FSU College of Engineering, and several professional certifications, including the national Certified Elections Registration Administrator certification and the Master Florida Certified Elections Professional certification. He is currently treasurer of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, and as chair of the association’s Cybersecurity Committee, he works closely with local, state, and federal agencies to continue hardening elections infrastructure against outside interference. LORI EDWARDS Polk County Supervisor of Elections 863-534 -5888 [email protected] Lori Edwards was elected supervisor of elections for Polk County in November 2000. Before that, she was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1992 to 2000. She began her career as a radio news director and then left radio to become a communications consultant. Edwards is active in the leadership of Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections and is a past president. She has earned designation as a Certified Elections Registration Administrator from the Election Center in association with Auburn University. She has a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Warner University in Lake Wales and a Professional Certificate in electoral processes from the International Center for Parliamentary Studies. CAROLYN A. EGAN Florida State University General Counsel 850-644-4440 [email protected] Carolyn A. Egan is the chief legal officer for Florida State University. She is responsible for all legal advice rendered by university attorneys to the University Board of Trustees, the university president, senior administrators, staff and faculty. She has a B.S. degree in communication (cum laude) from Florida State and earned her J.D. (with honors) in 1998 from the Florida State University College of Law. She is a member of The Florida Bar and also is admitted to practice before the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, as well as in the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Egan was associate general counsel for Florida State University from August 2007 until December 2011. Before that, she was in private practice as a partner in a boutique litigation firm representing cities, counties and K-12 school districts in all areas of civil litigation. She acted as board counsel to local boards, special districts and commissions, and she has extensive experience in public official immunity. GARY FINEOUT The Associated Press 850-224-1211 [email protected] Gary Fineout is a member of the Tallahassee bureau of The Associated Press. A veteran Tallahassee journalist, he joined the AP in 2011. He has covered state government since 1995, including coverage of politics, the budget, the judiciary and election law cases. Fineout has worked at the Miami Herald, the Tallahassee Democrat, the New York Times Newspaper Group and the Daytona Beach News-Journal. His work also has appeared in numerous other publications, including the New York Times, 850 magazine and the Daily Business Review. Fineout graduated from Florida State University with a degree in American and Florida studies. KAREN GIEVERS Second Judicial Circuit 850-606-4312 [email protected] Circuit Judge Karen Gievers was elected to the Second Judicial Circuit Bench in 2010 for a term beginning in January 2011. She is currently assigned to the Leon County Civil Division, following Leon County assignments in the delinquency, probate and guardianship and dependency divisions and also has a three-year, part-time assignment as the Jefferson County circuit judge responsible for all divisions. She graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1978 and was in private practice, mostly in her own firm, until being elected to the bench. She was born in Southern California and has been a Florida resident since 1969. PAT GLEASON Attorney General’s Office 850-245-0140 [email protected] Pat Gleason is special counsel for open government for Attorney General Pam Bondi. She also has served as the advocate for the Florida Ethics Commission and chief of the Administrative Law Section in the Attorney General’s Office. She is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law. She also is currently the editor of the Sunshine Manual and the Public Records Guide for Law Enforcement agencies. TRIMMEL GOMES The Rotunda Podcast Gomes Media Strategies 772-342-4024 [email protected] Trimmel Gomes has more than 15 years’ experience as an award-winning journalist for major news outlets such as NPR and PBS. He has covered complex and important public policy issues while managing a statewide news team as news director of Florida Public Radio/WFSU-FM in Tallahassee. Gomes is often quoted as an expert on Florida politics, appearing on national and statewide media. He is a graduate of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida, a member of the college advisory council and an adjunct instructor in the College of Communication & Information at Florida State University.