Ryan Nicol
Gov. Ron DeSantis is retaining former Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff on the Florida International University (FIU) Board of Trustees.
DeSantis announced he would reappoint Sarnoff to the position late Wednesday. Sarnoff has been on the FIU Board since 2016, when former Gov. Rick Scott appointed him to a five-year term. That term expired this year.
Sarnoff is currently a partner at the high-powered law firm Shutts and Bowen where he handles real estate work, as well as land use and government relations issues.
He also served on the Miami City Commission from 2006 to 2015. Sarnoff represented District 2, which spanned downtown Miami, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Omni and the Upper Eastside. Sarnoff also served two terms as Commission Chair.
Sarnoff specialized in land use and zoning issues while serving on the Commission for nearly a decade. That includes work on the Perez Art Museum, the Frost Museum of Science and the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center.
Sarnoff chaired the Downtown Development Authority, the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency and the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District. Under former Gov. Scott, Sarnoff also secured a spot on the Metropolitan Planning Organization, helping to oversee the Florida transportation budget.
Sarnoff attended the University of Tampa for undergrad, earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology. He obtained his Juris Doctor from Loyola School of Law and went on to earn an LLM, a master of laws, from Tulane School of Law, focusing on maritime law. Sarnoff is admitted to the Bar in Florida, Louisiana and Washington, D.C.
Sarnoff’s reappointment to the FIU Board of Trustees is subject to Florida Senate confirmation.
Sarnoff’s reappointment was one of three late Wednesday appointments by the Governor. DeSantis also reappointed David Lawrence Jr. to the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Board of Trustees and named John Miklos to the University of Central Florida (UCF) Florida Board of Trustees.
