Movers & Shakers

New appointments at the Department of Agriculture

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam H. Putnam has named five appointments in his department.

Alan Edwards has been named director of administration for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Edwards, who has served with the agency for more than 20 years in various roles, was previously the director of policy and budget. Prior to joining the department, he was the controller for a multimillion dollar construction company and sole proprietor of a CPA firm.

Derek Buchanan, who joined the department in 2008, has been named director of policy and budget. He held several positions in finance and accounting and policy and budget, and previously served as a senior auditor for the Florida Auditor General's Office.

Brooke McKnight has been promoted to cabinet affairs director. She was previously in the deputy director position. She also served as a senior legislative assistant for Putnam when he was a U.S. representative for Florida's 12th Congressional district.

Jessica Field started working as deputy cabinet affairs director on Oct. 1, afer working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection since 2008. She was most recently an environmental consultant.

Jon Rees has been named deputy legislative affairs director. He recently served as the legislative assistant to Rep. Ross Spano. He's a former governmental and political affairs coordinator for Associated Industries of Florida.

DCF press secretary moves to the Attorney General's office

Whitney Ray, who had been press secretary for the Department of Children and Families for about five months, has joined Attorney General Pam Bondi's office as press secretary. Before working at DCF, Ray was a TV reporter for the Capitol News Service. Ray replaces John Lucas, who has become press secretary at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

New associate at Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops

Ingrid M. Delgado has joined the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops as associate for social concerns/respect life. Delgado previously served as a grants specialist and case manager for Catholic Charities of Central Florida Refugee Services. She replaced Sheila S. Hopkins, who recently retired from the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops after 11 years.

Governor appointees

Gov. Rick Scott announced three reappointments to the Department of Elder Affairs Advisory Council: Dr. Mohammad Choudhry, 47, of Leesburg and a self-employed neurophysician; Olga Connor, 67, of Miami and the director of the office of communication and legislative affairs; and Mary "Mari" Terbrueggen, 74, of Jacksonville, chairman and CEO of the Senior Life Foundation.

Gary Harrod has been appointed, and Martin Garcia reapppointed, to the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.

Harrod, 64, of Tampa, is the CEO of Harrod Properties Inc. and served on the board of directors for the Bank of Tampa and on the board of trustees for the University of Tampa. Harrod succeeds Joseph Diaco.

Garcia, 57, of Tampa, who has been reappointed, is the managing director of Pinehill Capital Partners Inc. Garcia has served on the Board of Trustees for Wake Forest University and on the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar Association.

Scott has named three appointments and six reappointments to the Rehabilitation Council for the Blind.

The new Council members are: Jesus Garcia, 49, of Hialeah and manager of Logisticare LLC, who succeeds Andrew Raines; Robert Kelly, 60, of Daytona Beach, executive director of Florida Lions Conklin Center, who succeeds Ted Hull; and Patricia Lipovsky, 63, of Daytona Beach, a self-employed property manager. who fills a vacant seat.

Reappointed are: Leanne Grillot, 42, of Tallahassee, a program specialist for the Florida Department of Education; Benedict Grzesik, 70, of Melbourne, a virtual adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland; Victoria Magliocchino, 55, of St. Augustine, a teacher at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind; Donté Mickens, 32, of Delray Beach, an insurance analyst with NCCI Holdings Inc.; Sylvia Stinson-Perez, 44, of Port Richey, executive director of Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind; and Christopher White, 39, of Tampa, an attorney with Disability Rights Florida Law Firm.