Governor appoints outgoing Alachua Sheriff to FAMU Board of Trustees, reappoints former member

Outgoing Alachua County Sheriff Emery Gainey is the newest member of the Florida A&M University (FAMU) Board of Trustees, courtesy of an appointment by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Governor named Gainey, who also chairs the Santa Fe College District Board of Trustees, to the 13-member FAMU Board.

The move comes about a year and four months after DeSantis appointed Gainey as Alachua Sheriff. Gainey, a Gainesville Republican, previously served in high-ranking roles at the Attorney General’s Office under Pam Bondi, Bill McCollum and Ashley Moody, and as the appointed Interim Sheriff of Marion County under ex-Gov. Rick Scott.

Gainey was unsuccessful in keeping his most recently appointed Sheriff job last month, losing a close contest to Democrat Chad Scott.

DeSantis also appointed education consultant TaShaunda “Nicole” Washington, a nearly five-year member of the Board who stepped down recently before applying for another seat on the panel.

Both will serve five-year terms beginning Jan. 7, pending Senate confirmation. They replace FAMU Board members Otis Cliatt II and Kenny Stone, whom DeSantis appointed in 2020.

Gainey, 65, holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Florida and an associate’s degree from Santa Fe College.

He began his law enforcement career in 1982 with the Alachua Sheriff’s Office, working his way up to becoming Chief Deputy before retiring in 2007. Then he served as Director of Law Enforcement and Victim Services at the Attorney General’s Office, where he most recently served as Chief of Staff to Moody.

State records show Gainey made $3,206 worth of political contributions since 2002, the most recent of which included a $250 donation to new Republican Rep. Chad Johnson of Chiefland this year, and $500 last year to Republican Robert Woody, who ran but then withdrew from the race Johnson ultimately won.

He also gave $300 to Republican ex-Rep. Chuck Clemons of Newberry and $250 to the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Washington, a 42-year-old independent registered to vote in Miami-Dade County, holds master’s degrees in elementary education, teaching, and international and comparative education from Mercy University and the Teacher’s College of Columbia University.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology, African American studies and education from Princeton University, according to a Governor’s Office press note.

In addition to her service with FAMU, she is a member of the Miami Dade College District Board of Trustees and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

She also works as a state policy consultant for the Florida College Access Network, as a state higher education policy consultant for the Lumina Foundation and has owned and operated a consulting firm, Washington Education Strategies, since 2019.

State records show she donated $100 in 2017 to former Rep. Vance Aloupis, a Miami Republican.

Washington, who previously chaired the FAMU Board, resigned this year before tossing her name into the mix for appointment to a different seat. The Florida Board of Governors picked businessman Earnie Ellison, also a prior member of the Board who recently resigned, to replace her Dec. 19.

Gainey and Washington will join Chair Kristen Harper, Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons and members Jamal Brown, John Crossman, Natalie Figgers, Kelvin Lawson, Loryn May, Belvin Perry Jr., Craig Reed, Kenward Stone and Michael White.

The Florida A&M University Board of Trustees includes six members appointed by the Governor and five appointed by the Board of Governors, all of whom serve staggered five-year terms, and the Presidents of the Faculty Senate and Student Government Association, who serve one-year terms each.

Trustees serve without compensation and meet at least quarterly to make and change school policies.