OUR PANELISTS Mr. Mark R. Cruise, Executive Director Florida Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (FAFCC) Mark Cruise is Executive Director of the Florida Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (FAFCC). This statewide association represents and supports not-for profit community-based clinics and specialty care networks that provide quality healthcare services at little or no charge to low-income, uninsured and underserved Floridians. Florida has more free and charitable clinics than any state in the country. Mark previously served as Executive Director of the Virginia Association of Free Clinics, the nation’s oldest, from 1997-2006. Following his tenure there, he headed up a national consulting company called Free Clinic Solutions until joining FAFCC in 2013. With 20 years of experience in the free and charitable healthcare sector, Mark has a keen interest in public policy issues affecting healthcare access and health improvement for vulnerable populations. Senator Maria Sachs, District # 34 - Minority Deputy Whip Senator Maria Lorts Sachs was successfully elected in November 2012 to represent District 34 which includes parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties. Senator Sachs is the daughter of a World War II veteran and an immigrant mother, which instilled a strong sense of American patriotism, a profound attachment to American veterans, and a commitment to making a difference within her community. As a prosecutor, Maria worked at the Office of the State Attorney under Janet Reno, and thereafter for a major commercial litigation firm before opening her own law firm focusing on family law and juvenile representation. • In 2006, Maria won a seat in the Florida House of Representatives where she served for two terms before being elected to the Florida Senate in 2010. After the redistricting process in 2012, Maria won in a contested election in a newly redrawn Senate district. She served as Senate Minority Whip in 2011. She served as the Senate Minority Leader Pro Tempore, by the choice of her peers. She is Deputy Minority Whip in 2015. The Senator has also served as Vice Chair of the Senate Gaming Committee for the last two years and she is currently Vice Chair on the Higher Education Committee. • Senator Sachs is an advocate whose community ties are strong and lasting with contributions in the areas of economic prosperity, community safety, juvenile justice, veterans’ affairs, seniors, education and energy issues. House Representative Lori Berman, District # 90 - Delegation Chair Lori has been a life-long resident of Florida, graduating from Nova High School. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Tufts University. She received her law degree from the National Law Center at George Washington University and an LLM in Estate Planning from the University of Miami. Lori has extensive legal experience working for law firms in the areas of commercial litigation, regulatory real estate law and estate planning. She also served as in-house counsel to a federal savings bank. Lori has a long record of community service and has been active serving in many educational and social service programs. In 2010, she was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and in 2014 she was re-elected to her third term. Representative Berman is past Chair of the Women’s Legislative Caucus and is Chair of the Palm Beach County Delegation. Throughout her tenure in the Florida House of Representatives, Lori has tirelessly advocated to ensure all Floridians have adequate health care, that Florida’s educational system is properly funded, that woman’s rights are protected and that Florida’s number one priority remains economic prosperity for all Floridians. In her spare time, Lori enjoys playing tennis, skiing, hiking, travel, and reading. Lori and Jeff Ganeles have been married for over 30 years and they have two children, Caryn and Steven. House Representative Kevin Rader, District # 81 Kevin Rader was elected to the Florida House of Representatives District 81 in 2012. He serves as the Ranking Member on Business and Professions Subcommittee and sits on the Appropriations and Local and Federal Affairs Committees, as well as the Government Operations, and Local Government Affairs Subcommittees. Rader is an Agency Principal at CKP Insurance, an independent agency in Boca Raton. He is a licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Agent (220 license) and a licensed Life Insurance Agent (216 license) in Florida. He is also active in the Florida Association of Insurance Agents. Representative Rader is a graduate of Boston University with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. He resides in Delray Beach, FL and is inspired by his wife Amy and their four children: Caleb, Ruby, Yael and Ezra. Sen. Joseph Abruzzo, District # 25 – Minority Whip Elected to the Florida Senate in 2012, Senator Joseph Abruzzo currently represents the 25th District in Palm Beach County. He served in the Florida House of Representatives for two terms from 2008 to 2012. As Representative he authored a record of twenty bills that were passed into law. Through the success of working with constituents, he has been able to expand violations related to animal cruelty, advocate on behalf of veterans, work to improve educational programs and is currently seeking legislation to prohibit discrimination in the workforce. Most recently during the 2015 Legislative Session, he passed a policy related to the Rights of Grandparents’ and Great-Grandparents’. Senator Abruzzo has actively worked to appropriate funds at the state level for Alzheimer’s Community Care, Place of Hope, technical education programs at West Tech in the Glades, and infrastructure dollars to aid in the improvement of Palm Beach County’s roads and water quality. With an in-depth understanding of economics and private business enterprise, Senator Abruzzo is currently appointed as the chairman of the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee and also serves as vice-chair of the Committee on Finance & Tax. In addition, he serves on the following Senate Committees: Community Affairs, Regulated Industries, Fiscal Policy, Appropriations Subcommittee on Health & Human Services, and Communications, Energy, & Public Utilities. In 2005, Joseph Abruzzo enlisted and served as a Port Security Specialist in the United States Coast Guard Reserve and was honorably discharged in March of 2013. Senator Abruzzo is also an active member of the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation and previously served as the chair of the delegation. Senator Abruzzo is passionately active in civic and charitable affairs. He is a founding member of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, part of the Heroes’ Circle for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. .