TOM HERNDON has served as chief of staff to one Florida governor and chief of staff and budget director to another. Prior to his retirement from the state, he served as executive director of the Florida State Board of Administration (FSBA), managing $125 billion dollars of investments including pension fund assets as part of the Florida Retirement System.
Serving in all three branches of Florida’s fiscal system, Herndon collected state revenues as director of the Department of Revenue, appropriated state revenues as staff director of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, and budgeted and expended state revenues during his six years as the state's director of planning and budget.
Herndon is the recipient of several state and national public service awards including the Florida Distinguished Service Medal for Exceptionally Meritorious Service to the State, presented in 1995. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Helios Education Foundation.
ALEX SINK, Florida Chief Financial Officer, is a dynamic financial and civic leader whose professional experience and public service have made her a champion for fiscal responsibility and accountability.
CFO Sink was first elected statewide in 2006 as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Sink oversees nearly 3,000 employees and an annual budget of $300 million in the Department of Financial Services. Her varied responsibilities include managing the state’s $24 billion in Treasury funds, serving as the State Fire Marshal, overseeing workers’ compensation and the state’s risk management programs, and licensing all insurance agents and investigating insurance fraud.
One of CFO Sink’s most important duties is serving as Florida’s fiscal watchdog, identifying waste and government inefficiencies. Since taking office, she has halted faulty contracting procedures, including putting a stop to Project Aspire, the $85 million, over-budget and frequently delayed accounting program.
As the state’s top fiscal officer, CFO Sink’s goal is to understand and prepare for all issues that may affect the future of Florida’s economy. The CFO is also a member of Florida’s Cabinet, which includes the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
LORI PARHAM, AARP Florida’s State Director, began her career at AARP in November 2004. Before becoming State Director in early 2007, she served as Advocacy Manager for State Affairs and was responsible for policy and legislative advocacy. She serves on the boards of the Florida Patient Safety Corporation and the Florida Council on Aging.
Before joining AARP, Parham served as a legislative analyst for the Florida Senate, providing technical expertise to the Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care. Her duties included oversight of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the Florida Medicaid program as well as analyzing and summarizing legislation to determine its effectiveness and the impact of its passage on the state and its citizens.
She also served as staff for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), focusing on long-term care issues in the Medicaid Research Bureau. Prior to her work at AHCA, Parham worked at the Florida State University Pepper Institute, where she was involved in multiple research projects on long-term care facilities and quality, assisted living facility training, work and the lifecourse, and inequality.
WALTER DARTLAND, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, has earned a national reputation as a consumer advocate. He has expertise in consumer protection, investment and insurance fraud, and public interest issues. He has represented the public interest before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as an NAIC designated consumer representative and served on the US Food and Drug Administration Consortium.
In 1987 he was named deputy attorney general and served under Attorney General Bob Butterworth. While in the attorney general's office he oversaw litigation in environmental protection, land use, consumer protection, antitrust enforcement, and execution of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. In 1996 he returned to the attorney general's office and served as Special Counsel until 2000.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Consumer Federation of America and Common Cause Florida, an organization dedicated to open, honest and accountable government.
