Secretary, Board of Directors

Angie L. Barry is a museum consultant and nonprofit leader with more than 20 years of experience helping community-based cultural organizations strengthen their operations, strategic planning, collections, exhibitions, fundraising, and community engagement.

Treasurer, Board of Directors

Fran Lewis is a retired school guidance counselor. She spent 25 years as a counselor in both public and private school settings. Prior to the that, she worked in vocational rehabilitation assisting persons with various physical or mental disabilities. She also was a sign language interpreter and taught sign language classes. 

Dr. Ansley Abraham is the founding director of the Southern Regional Education Board State Doctoral Scholars Program in Atlanta, GA. Under Dr. Abraham’s direction, the Board has developed one of the nation’s best-documented and successful programs for producing minority Ph.Ds. who seek faculty careers. Dr. Abraham has directed studies at SREB that covered several topics, including the perception of the campus climate by minority and majority group students on historically black and predominantly white campuses. 

Lonna Atkeson is the LeRoy Collins Eminent Scholar in Civic Education & Political Science and director of the LeRoy Collins Institute at Florida State University. Her research focuses on election science, survey methodology, public policy, voting rights, public opinion, political psychology, and political behavior.  She has authored 4 books, over 50 articles and book chapters, numerous policy reports and several amicus curiae briefs.

Thomas (Tom) H. Bateman III, retired from his elected position as Circuit Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit of Florida in January 2009 after 35 years of public service. Tom is now a full-time Florida Supreme Court Certified County Court, Circuit Court and Appellate Court Mediator, Qualified Arbitrator, and practicing attorney at the Tallahassee law firm of Messer, Caparello, P.A.

The Honorable Janet Ferris served as a Circuit Judge on Florida's Second Judicial Circuit from 1999 until she retired in 2009. Before becoming a judge, she worked for nearly 20 years in various aspects of Florida’s government and criminal justice system. Judge Ferris began her career as a prosecutor and then served as Chief of the Attorney General’s Civil RICO Section. General Counsel to the Florida Departments of Law Enforcement and Juvenile Justice, Secretary of the Florida Department of Business Regulation, and Chief Inspector General.

David Maloney is a Florida attorney and retired Administrative Law Judge whose distinguished career included service with the Florida Supreme Court, Florida Department of Business Regulation, Florida Attorney General’s Office, Governor’s Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Florida Division of Administrative Hearings. During more than 20 years at DOAH, he served as Senior Judge and Deputy Chief Judge, supervising approximately 30 Administrative Law Judges, and later practiced as Of Counsel with Rutledge Ecenia, focusing on healthcare, environmental, and administrative law.

Rob McNeely is a Tallahassee-based litigation and transactional attorney, and an adjunct professor of law. For 23 years, he has taught Entertainment Law at the Florida State University College of Law. In 2023, he joined the FSU College of Music as an adjunct professor teaching undergraduate and graduate students about legal issues in the music industry. Rob has practiced intellectual property and entertainment law since 1999, building his practice by focusing mostly on the music industry.

J. Stephen Menton earned his undergraduate degree Florida State University and his law degree and Master of Public Policy from Duke University before beginning a distinguished legal career spanning more than four decades in private practice and public service. He served as an Administrative Law Judge with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings from 1988 to 1997 and has extensive experience in administrative, commercial, construction, environmental, and litigation matters before state and federal courts and agencies.

Erin O’Hara O’Connor has served as dean of the Florida State University College of Law since 2016, leading FSU Law through a decade of significant growth, national recognition, and strategic innovation–strengthening the school's reputation as one of the nation’s best values in legal education. A nationally recognized scholar, Dean O’Connor’s research focuses on conflict of laws, arbitration, behavioral law and economics, and the legal marketplace. Her work includes four published books and a series of significant articles on choice of law, as well as articles that examine the role of arbitration for contracting parties.

Patsy Palmer is a retired lawyer in Tallahassee, Florida.  She was called to the Bar after careers in journalism and government.  Ms. Palmer served on the staffs of the Carter White House, Florida Governors Graham and Chiles, Florida Senate President Harry Johnston, and Florida House Speaker Hyatt Brown.  She also worked for Gannett and Knight-Ridder newspapers.

Elizabeth Ricci is the Managing Partner at Rambana & Ricci, PLLC in Tallahassee.  She concentrates mostly on business immigration but her pro bono focus is naturalizing foreign-born US military veterans. The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed her “the go-to lawyer for veterans.” She received the Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice’s Pro Bono Award, among many others.

Jeff Swain is Chairman of The James Madison Institute, a non-partisan think tank focused on free markets, limited government, the rule of law, and economic liberty in Florida.  Now retired, his business experience included executive roles at large corporations (independent power industry) as well as a small videography startup.

Rob Thompson was a Public School Teacher for 25 years, during which he taught many different High School Social Science classes, including Advanced Placement Psychology, Law Studies, Mock Trial and Moot Court. Rob worked at The Florida Supreme Court as the Law Related Education and Outreach Coordinator managing the state-wide Justice Teaching Initiative that placed a member of the Florida Bar in 98% of all Florida Public Schools.  

Marjorie Turnbull was Executive Director of the Foundation and Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Tallahassee State College from 1995 until her retirement. She served for six years on the Leon County Commission and subsequently was elected to the Florida House of Representative from Leon County. Prior to her public service she was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Planning for the State of Florida and an administrative staff member of the Florida House of Representatives.

Wendy is President Emeriti of Leadership Florida, after serving as its president for 28 years. During her tenure, Leadership Florida grew from producing an annual class program to providing programs for the state’s top college students, its young professionals, Florida’s locally elected officials from cities, counties and school boards, as well as for executives new to our state, graduates of community leadership programs, Florida’s educators, and for members of the Florida Legislature.

Bernie Waxman worked at Florida State University for 45 years prior to his retirement in 2019. He entered FSU as a freshman in 1967 earning a BA in philosophy and an MA in humanities while competing on the varsity track team. Following his passion for sports, Bernie directed the FSU Intramural Sports program from 1974-1990 before moving to the FSU Athletics Department where he served as Associate Athletics Director for Facilities, Operations, and Event Management until 2019.