DeSantis Appoints Urban Meyer to New College of Florida Board of Trustees

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a series of appointments on Wednesday to several boards committees, and judicial benches across the state. The announcement, made on Tuesday, builds on another round of appointments made by DeSantis last Monday. Perhaps the most surprising nod was given to Urban Meyer, the former star head coach of the Florida Gators college football team. Meyer, who won three national championships with Florida and Ohio State, was one of three appointed to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees. The appointment of Meyer, along with Mark Bauerlein and Debra Jenks, comes as the New College of Florida is facing scrutiny over thanks to an effort by DeSantis to overhaul the school’s practices in accordance with  conservative education priorities. Another few major education appointments were made on Tuesday. DeSantis chose three nominees to the Florida Board of Education: Dr. Grazie Christie, Erika Fritz-Ochs, and Luis Fuste. Of the three, only Fitz-Ochs has robust educational experience, serving as Program Manager of the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning. Fuste is an attorney, and Christie is a radiologist. Among the more local appointments was that of Daniel Bean to the St. Augustine Airport Authority. An attorney and nonprofit executive, Bean is replacing the recently resigned Jennifer Liotta. A slew of resignations have impacted the Airport Authority, with only one member remaining from the start of 2025. The seats are supposed to be elected, but the resignations have transformed the board into one almost completely handpicked by Gov. DeSantis. The full list of DeSantis’s recent appointees is as follows, per the Florida Governor’s Office. These include appointments announced on December 22nd and on December 30th. Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judges Judge Katherine Miller – Volusia County Court Judge Frank Talbot – Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Nineteenth Judicial Court Judges Katherine Mish – Attorney for Treasure Coast Legal Steven Wilson – Associate attorney for Rossway, Swan, Tierney, Barry, and Oliver Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Gary Jennings (reappointment) – Director of Keep Florida Fishing Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees Pierro Bussani – Executive VP & Chief Legal Officer of Hertz Global Thomas Mersch – Partner, Kelly Kronenberg law firm Linda Stoch – Business owner, Haitian Evangelical Community Association Board of Directors member Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling Tanya Kraus – Social Services Manager for Broward Health Medical Center Lidia Martinez – Mental health counselor Alexandra O’Brien – Clinical social worker at Tallahassee Counseling and Consulting Stacey Reed – Executive Director of Lauren’s Legacy Pregnancy Center Florida Board of Dentistry Marc Anderson – Dentist at Anderson Dental Dr. Bradley Cherry – Owner & surgeon at Bradley A. Cherry Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Andrew Forrest – Founder & Clinical Director of Orange Park Dental Partners Karyn Hill – Dental hygienist consultant, Chief Examiner for the American Board of Dental Examiners Angela Johnson – Dental hygienist for D. Mark Volteral’s Dental Office Dr. Chadwick Marshall – Owner & surgeon at Chadwick J. Marshall Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Jessica Stilley-Mallah – Periodontist at Periodontal Health Center Elizabeth Traverso – Assistant State Attorney for Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit Nicholas White – Pediatric dentist at Nicholas A. White, DMD Florida Board of Education Dr. Grazie Christie – Radiologist, pro-life activist Erika Fritz-Ochs – Program Manager of the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning Luis Fuste – Attorney, Florida Commission on Ethics member Florida Board of Employee Leasing Companies Don Day – Chairman & CEO of RealTime Services Brian Evans – CEO of Southeast Personnel Leasing Ismael Gonzalez III – Partner at Paycorp Human Resources Christopher Baylon – CFO of Integrity Employee Leasing Florida Board of Nursing Lindsay Wolf – Associate Dean & Chief Academic Nurse at Jacksonville University School of Nursing Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine Dr. William Kirsch – Physician at University of Miami Hospital and Clinics Dr. Monica Mortensen – Pediatric endocrinologist for Nemours Children’s Health Terry Reid-Paul – Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at Keiser University Derek ‘Patrick’ Rooney – Shareholder at GrayRobinson law firm Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees Christie Bassett – Education consultant, former public school teacher Jeffrey Beelaert – Partner at Givens Pursley law firm, former deputy associate attorney general at U.S. Department of Justice Jack Harrell – CEO & Chairman of Board of Harrell’s, LLC Ilya Sapiro – Director of Constitutional Studies at Manhattan Institute Florida Transportation Commission Ronald Howse – Owner & CEO of Real Deal Development Thomas C. Nash II – Chairman of Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen law firm Russell Roberts – Senior Policy Advisor for Federal Railroad Administration Greater Miami Expressway Agency Richard Blanco – Chief Technology Officer for Internos Group, LLC Fatima Perez – Director of Koch State Government Affairs Jacksonville Aviation Authority Fernando Acosta-Rua – Principal/shareholder for Heritage Capital Group Michelle Barnett – Attorney at Alexander, DeGance, Barnett Matt Connell – CEO of Total Military Management David Hodges Jr. – Chairman & CEO of Hodges Management Group New College of Florida Board of Trustees Mark Bauerlein – Emory University professor, magazine editor Debra Jenks – Commissioner, Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission Urban Meyer – Former college football coach and television analyst Public Employees Relations Commission Michael A. Sasso (reappointment) – Attorney, former Central Florida Tourism Oversight District member, husband of Florida Supreme Court Justice Meredith Sasso Putnam County Court Kenneth Johnson – Assistant State Attorney, Seventh Judicial Circuit Tallahassee State College District Board of Trustees Sara Bayliss – College Admissions Advisor at St. John Paul II Catholic High School Karen Moore – Founder & CEO of The Moore Agency Jonathan Rees – Partner at SBM Partners lobbyist firm South Florida Water Management District Robert Spottswood Jr. (reappointment) – President of Spottswood Companies, Inc. Space Florida Board of Directors Matthew Bocchino – Director of Cecil Airport and Spaceport Belinda Keiser – Vice Chancellor of Community Relations and Student Advancement at Keiser University Alex King – Executive Director of the Panama City Port Authority Tim Thomas – Consultant for I3 Solutions St. Augustine Airport Authority Daniel Bean – Attorney, nonprofit executive University of South Florida Board of Trustees Michael Carrere – Former CEO of Lykes Brothers, Inc. Rogan Donelly – President & CEO of Tervis Tumbler Company Chad Mizelle – Former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Department of Justice (Jan-Oct 2025) Lauran Monbarren – CEO & VP of Simpson Environmental Services