Bios in this section appear in alphabetical order ...

CHARLES H. BRONSON

           Charles H. Bronson, a fifth-generation Floridian, serves as Florida’s 10th Agriculture Commissioner. Managing the largest state Department of Agriculture in the country with more than 3,700 employees, Bronson’s priorities include overseeing the state’s vast agriculture industry and helping promote its products, safeguarding the state’s food supply, protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive trade practices, and managing about one million acres of state forests.

            Initially appointed to the position in May 2001 to fill the unexpired term of the outgoing Commissioner, Bronson was elected to the post in a statewide election in November 2002, and re-elected in November 2006. In addition to heading Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bronson serves on the Florida Cabinet - a body that includes Florida’s three statewide elected officials, as well as the Governor, and oversees state land-buying programs, clemency issues and directs the operations of several state agencies. Bronson is a member of the Governor’s Council on Efficient Government and is a former President of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

            Born into a ranching family in Kissimmee in 1949, Bronson comes from a family that traces its long agricultural roots to 1635 as each generation of the family has beenin farmingsince that date. The Commissioner attended Osceola County public schools and received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education and engineering, animal and meat sciences from the University of Georgia in 1972. He worked in the fertilizer, chemical and sod business and ultimately managed the family’s cattle business in Central Florida. A certified law enforcement officer, Bronson served as a reserve deputy in both Miami-Dade and Brevard counties. He was elected to the Florida Senate in 1994, representing a district that encompassed both Brevard and Osceola counties, and reelected in 1998. He served as chairman of both counties’ legislative delegations, and chairman of the Florida Senate’s Agriculture and Consumer Services Committee and its Natural Resources Committee.

Carol Browner 

Carol M. Browner is a principal of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm.

Ms. Browner provides strategic counsel to clients in the areas of environmental protection, energy conservation, and climate change. She positions clients in many sectors to succeed in enhancing corporate responsibility, gaining market access, identifying political and regulatory risks, and developing strategic partnerships and business relationships.

Ms. Browner served as the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for eight years, longer than any other administrator in EPA’s history.  As a Cabinet official during the Clinton Administration, she built unique partnerships with business leaders, community advocates, and all levels of government. She also developed common-sense, cost-effective solutions to the nation’s most pressing environmental and public health challenges.

Ms. Browner currently serves as Chair of the National Audubon Society, one of the country’s oldest environmental organizations.  She is on Board of the Directors of the Center for American Progress, the Alliance for Climate Protection, and the National Brownfields Association.

Ms. Browner earned both a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Florida.


Honorable Bob Graham

• The Honorable Bob Graham is a former U.S. Senator and a former two-term Governor of Florida.

• While recognized for his leadership in both of these roles – and on a wide range of issues, from health care to environmental preservation and others -- Senator Graham is perhaps best known for his 10 years of service on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, including 18 months as chairman in 2001-2002.

• Following the attacks of September 11, he co-chaired the historic and far-reaching House/Senate Joint Inquiry into the Intelligence Community's Failures Prior to 9/11.

• While serving in these roles, he had access to some of the nation's most closely guarded secrets.

• Results of the national inquiry review and proceedings, coupled with his own fact-finding, compelled him to speak out on the subject and assume an even more active leadership role.

• Following the release of a declassified version of the joint inquiry final report in July, 2003, he actively advocated reform of the intelligence community and sponsored legislation to bring about needed reforms.

• He also authored the revealing book, Intelligence Matters, an Insider's Look at America's National Security Systems and Failures in the War on Terrorism, Stemming from 9/11.

• He has been a leader in the realm of national security and indeed has been referred to as a "hawk in the war on terror."