Gov. DeSantis appoints former Donald Trump adviser, biotech chief to PBSC Board of Trustees

Gov. Ron DeSantis added two new members to the Palm Beach State College District Board of Trustees, the school’s legal governing body.

The appointees are Daniel Epstein and Jon Harrison. Both will serve terms of up to three years.

Epstein is an assistant professor of law at St. Thomas University, a private Catholic institution in Miami Gardens.

Before that, he served for three years as special assistant and senior associate counsel to former President Donald Trump. He also worked from 2020 to 2024 as director of Trust Ventures, a consulting firm that provides regulatory guidance to tech startups, according to his LinkedIn page.

In January became Vice President of America First Legal, a conservative organization founded and led by Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller that bills itself as “the long-awaited answer” to the American Civil Liberties Union.

According to his St. Thomas University bio, Epstein’s writing has been published in an array of popular media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Washington Post. He’s also appeared on Fox News, ABC, CBS and NBC.

One of his more recently published articles is a Feb. 1 post on The Federalist titled “How (Barack) Obama’s secret could save Trump in his Mar-A-Lago documents snafu.”

Harrison is the chief government officer of Vaxxinity, a biotech company headquartered in Dallas that recently reported a successful first-phase trial for a Parkinson’s disease vaccine.

He previously served as the eighth Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.

His other involvements include board memberships to 3D printing and robot construction company Diamond Age and Albers Aerospace, a business focused on manned and unmanned aeronautics and engineering based in McKinney, Texas.

He’s also a venture partner and adviser at IronGate Capital Advisors, whose business centers on national security, finance and tech.

Epstein holds a Juris Doctor from Emory University, a doctorate in political economy from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in political philosophy from Kenyon College.

Harrison earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southampton.

Their appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

A search of state and federal campaign finance records revealed no donations from either to DeSantis, his political committees or the Never Back Down super PAC that supported his short-lived presidential bid.

Current Palm Beach State College District Board of Trustees members include Chair Patrice Bishop, Vice Chair Omar Soto, Melissa Friedman-Levine, Wendy Link and Carolyn Williams.

Their next meeting is scheduled for Friday.