Peter Schorsch
Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis’ Inaugural Committee chief Justin Caporale announced another wave of staffers for the former congressman’s swearing in celebration.
“The Inaugural Committee is pleased to announce additional members of our leadership team who hail from Florida and across the nation,” Caporale said. “These accomplished individuals are spearheading the planning and production of inclusive Inaugural events open to all Floridians. Thanks to their efforts, Inaugural will be a celebration of our state’s new leadership and will advance Governor-elect DeSantis’ ‘Bold Vision for a Brighter Future.’”
Many of the names in the announcement should be familiar to Florida politicos.
Danielle Alvarez, José Bermudez and Ed Miyagishima are alums of the Rick Scott administration. Alvarez will serve as managing director of press advance. Bermudez and Miyagishima have been tapped to as managing directors of events.
Patrick Johnson, Lauren Keenan, Samantha Mims and Shannon Graves Polizzi all played a role in DeSantis’ gubernatorial campaign. Johnson, Keenan, Polizzi as well as Tallahassee native Alyssa Beaubien also got the events director badge. Mims will serve as deputy director of operations.
The final three names on the list may not have deep roots in Florida, but they’re well-known in Republican politics. Michelle Meadows of Dallas, P.J. O’Neil of Lake Forest, Ill., and Anna Reahl of Chicago have all served in the Trump administration. O’Neill also served during both Bush administrations while Meadows has the Bush 43 administration on her resume.
The staffing announcement comes a couple weeks after Team DeSantis announced key staff leadership for the Inaugural Committee, including Caporale as executive director, Jaclyn Schwinghamer as deputy director, Jordan Wiggins as director of operations and Nicole Rees as chief of staff.
DeSantis previously announced a star-studded list of committee members, including Florida and Washington, D.C. lobbyist Brian Ballard and his wife Kathryn Ballard of Tallahassee, who are serving as co-chairs of the committee.
The full list of names announced Tuesday:
— Danielle Alvarez of Miami, Managing Director of Press Advance
— Alyssa Beaubien of Tallahassee, Managing Director of Events
— José Bermudez of Miami, Managing Director of Events
— Patrick Johnson, Managing Director of Events
— Lauren Keenan of Nebraska, Managing Director of Events
— Michelle Meadows of Dallas, Managing Director of Press Accommodations
— Samantha Mims of Niceville, Deputy Director of Operations
— Ed Miyagishima of Tampa, Managing Director of Events
— P.J. O’Neil of Lake Forest, Ill., Director of Public and Special Events
— Shannon Graves Polizzi of Tampa, Managing Director of Events
— Anna Reahl of Chicago, Director of Programming
