Director of Global Outreach, Florida Chamber of Commerce
Alice Ancona heads the Florida Chamber’s international efforts and is responsible for developing and implementing programs that foster global trade and investment for Florida. She is responsible for promoting the Chamber’s international trade agenda, including reducing barriers to trade, promoting efforts to expand trade opportunities for Florida businesses and products, and expanded development of our trade infrastructure to federal and state, elected and appointed officials, staff and agencies as well as within the business community.
Ms. Ancona serves as the lead advocate to accomplish the goals set forth in the Florida Trade & Logistics Study 2.0 (TL2) through the newly created Florida Trade and Logistics Institute which actively works to expand Florida’s role as a global trade hub. She also serves as staff to the Chamber’s International Business Council and International Policy Committee which develops policy positions and recommendations on international trade and investment and works to promote Florida’s global competitiveness through advocacy.
Prior to joining the Florida Chamber Ms. Ancona was Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. She was the Chamber’s chief advocate and served as the principal a liaison between the Chamber and public sector on a wide range of public policy issues and was responsible for development, management and implementation of the Chamber’s public policy positions and advocacy strategies.
Ms. Ancona has experience in planning, developing, and implementing export programs and strategies for U.S. based companies; identifying and exploring export opportunities in overseas markets and market access problems affecting trade and has contributed to international trade research efforts. She has worked with a number of international trade stakeholders, business organizations, universities, and other strategic partners to advance and promote support for international trade and free trade agreements. These include developing grassroots international trade initiatives and activities designed to raise awareness of the benefits of international trade. Utilizing her diverse experiences in policy development, program management, and public affairs at local, federal, and international levels, she has integrated counseling on the design of effective policies and programs with traditional advocacy for implementation through legislative or administrative action.
Ms. Ancona is Vice Chair of Freight Transportation Advisory Committee (FTAC) of the Miami MPO, Regional Freight Advisory Committee member (RFAC) of the Southeast Florida Transportation Council (SEFTC), serves on the 2014-2015 Board of Directors for World Trade Center Miami, is member of the International Policy Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, member of the Florida International Trade Partnership and Recipient of the 2014 International Women’s Day Award from World Trade Center Miami.
Vice President of Global Innovation Policy, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
Stephen Ezell is vice president, global innovation policy, at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). He focuses on science and technology policy, international competitiveness, trade, manufacturing, and services issues.
He is the coauthor of Innovating in a Service-Driven Economy: Insights, Application, and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (Yale, 2012).
Ezell comes to ITIF from Peer Insight, an innovation research and consulting firm he cofounded in 2003 to study the practice of innovation in service industries. At Peer Insight, Ezell led the Global Service Innovation Consortium, published multiple research papers on service innovation, and researched national service innovation policies being implemented by governments worldwide.
Prior to forming Peer Insight, Ezell worked in the New Service Development group at the NASDAQ Stock Market, where he spearheaded the creation of the NASDAQ Market Intelligence Desk and the NASDAQ Corporate Services Network, services for NASDAQ-listed corporations. Previously, Ezell cofounded two successful innovation ventures, the high-tech services firm Brivo Systems and Lynx Capital, a boutique investment bank.
Ezell holds a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, with an honors certificate from Georgetown’s Landegger International Business Diplomacy program.
Senior Economic Policy Advisor, AFL-CIO
Thomas Palley is senior economic policy adviser to the AFL-CIO. He was formerly chief economist with the US – China Economic and Security Review Commission. Dr. Palley is the author of numerous journal and magazine articles and several books, including From Financial Crisis to Stagnation: The Destruction of Shared Prosperity and the Role of Economics(Cambridge University Press, 2012) and Plenty of Nothing: The Downsizing of the American Dream and the Case for Structural Keynesianism (Princeton University Press, 1998). He holds a B.A. degree from Oxford University and a M.A. degree in international relations and Ph.D. in economics, both from Yale University. His writings on economics are available at www.thomaspalley.com.
Jay Van Andel Senior Policy Analyst in Trade Policy, Center for, The Heritage Foundation
Bryan Riley is a full-time advocate for free trade through his research and writing for The Heritage Foundation. He brings years of experience in trade and economic issues to his role as Jay Van Andel senior analyst in trade policy.
Working in Heritage’s Center for Trade and Economics, Riley contributes to the influential Index of Economic Freedom, which the think tank publishes annually in partnership with The Wall Street Journal. The 2011 edition measured 183 countries across 10 specific factors of economic freedom: The higher the score, the lower the level of government interference.
Canada retained its top ranking for economic freedom among North American nations measured in 2010, moving up one slot in the world rankings to sixth. The United States continued to lose ground with a ninth-place finish. The U.S. score of 77.8 was down 0.2 points—largely the result of big government spending increases and passage of a restrictive health care law. In the 2010 Index, the United States dropped from the ranks of economically “free” nations into the “mostly free” category.
Riley’s background includes management of grassroots campaigns in support of trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, popularly known as NAFTA. When minivans became popular in the 1990s, for example, he helped defeat efforts to reclassify them as “cargo vehicles” instead of “passenger vehicles.” The “cargo” label would have subjected minivans and SUVs to an import tax of 25 percent.
Riley, who joined Heritage in 2010, especially enjoys serving as a myth-buster who counters inaccurate, misleading misinformation that hoodwinks the public and undermines free trade.
He grew up in Manhattan, Kansas. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Southern California. He currently resides in Washington, D.C., returning to the nation’s capital after several years in Kansas.
Mr. Morgan Wood Streetman is the founder and principal of Streetman Law in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Streetman is licensed to practice law in Florida and Mississippi, where he was born. He is also licensed to practice before all federal courts in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Mr. Streetman has a wealth of experience in business transactions and disputes. He advises small and closely-held businesses on all of their legal needs, which range from contracts with customers and vendors, to employee relations and human resources issues, to shareholder or member disputes, just to name a few.
Part of Mr. Streetman’s business practice is his focus on representing construction-related businesses and individuals. He has handled every aspect of construction law, including drafting contracts, helping individuals obtain proper licensing, construction liens, construction defect claims, and payment and performance bond claims against surety bonding companies.
Mr. Streetman represents individuals who have been injured by another’s negligence, which includes everything from car and trucking accidents, to dog bites, to a landlord’s allowing a criminal assailant to enter an apartment building common area and viciously attack a tenant by failing to secure common areas with locks and keys.
Mr. Streetman received his law degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Florida in Gainesville. While at the University of Florida, Mr. Streetman was honored with election to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. The Society invites less than 1 percent of graduating seniors to become members.
Principal Attorney, Woodring Law Firm
Mr. Daniel Woodring has lived in Florida for almost 30 years, but was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Florida, he has lived and worked in Pensacola, Clearwater, Jacksonville, Gainesville and Tallahassee. His wife Jean, who is also an attorney, was born in Miami, and grew up in Ft. Myers. They have a son and a daughter.
Mr. Woodring is recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer, an honor given to fewer than 5% of Florida Attorneys, and holds an Avvo “Superb” rating. Mr. Woodring also has an AV Preeminent® Peer Reviewrating. AV®, AV Preeminent® are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies, and the ratings are explained at www.martindale.com/ratings.
Mr. Woodring is a member of the Florida and Georgia Bars, and is admitted to practice before the Florida Federal Southern, Middle and Northern District Courts, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has worked at the trial level on cases in many of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits, in addition to cases in state administrative tribunals. He has argued cases at the Florida Supreme Court and Florida District Courts of Appeal, and has briefed cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.
He graduated from the University of Florida, College of Law with a Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude, and received his B.A. degree from Clearwater Christian College, Summa Cum Laude.
After law school, Mr. Woodring was in private practice doing general civil and appellate work. He then left for a two year appellate clerkship at the First District Court of Appeal. During his time at the court, he worked on cases including, but not limited to: criminal; family law; administrative law; workers’ compensation; business and civil law; constitutional law.
Mr. Woodring next worked as a counsel in the Executive Office of the Governor, Office of the General Counsel. During his time in Governor Bush’s Legal Office he had diverse responsibilities, including oversight and strategic litigation management of significant legal matters at numerous Governor’s agencies, including the Department of Education, Department of Management Services, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Department of Health, Agency for Health Care Administration, Department of Children and Families, Department of Community Affairs, Department of Elder affairs, Agency for Workforce Innovation, Department of Transportation, and the Department of State.
He was also legally responsible for topics as disparate as emergency operations; advising the Governor on the selection of judges; implementation of civil service reform; reform of workers’ compensation; budget and appropriation matters; Indian gaming law; and legally advising the Florida Cabinet sitting in its many capacities, such as the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission.
Mr. Daniel Woodring was then offered the opportunity to be General Counsel for the Florida Department of Education, which encompassed Pre-K though 12th grade, community colleges(now State colleges) and the Florida University System. He was also the first General Counsel for the Florida Board of Governors, when that Board was constitutionally created to manage the State University System.
During almost five years at the Department of Education, Mr. Woodring advised and litigated on matters including, but not limited to: constitutional challenges to Florida’s education programs, including Opportunity Scholarships and the charter school approval and appeal process; doing away with race as a preference in university admissions and state contracting; teacher and professional discipline cases; union, labor and employment matters; state procurement and bid protest proceedings; administrative rule challenges and rule making proceedings; IDEA and Section 504 proceedings; public records, government in the sunshine and ethical matters; contract negotiations and disputes.
Since 2007, Mr. Woodring has been back in private practice as the principal of the Woodring Law Firm, located in Tallahassee, Florida, but with a statewide practice, including Pensacola, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa Bay, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Ft. Myers, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami. He concentrates his practice on appeals; constitutional cases in both state and federal court; education law matters, including charter school represention; Business litigation; and state administrative matters, including state procurement, regulation and licensing, rule challenges and proposed rule making, although he also handles cases in many other areas.
Please look at the individual practice areas on the left menu for more information.
Mr. Woodring is a member of the Appellate, Administrative, and Governmental Lawyer sections of the Florida Bar and served as Chair of the Education Law Committee of the Florida Bar.
Director of Global Outreach, Florida Chamber of Commerce
Alice Ancona heads the Florida Chamber’s international efforts and is responsible for developing and implementing programs that foster global trade and investment for Florida. She is responsible for promoting the Chamber’s international trade agenda, including reducing barriers to trade, promoting efforts to expand trade opportunities for Florida businesses and products, and expanded development of our trade infrastructure to federal and state, elected and appointed officials, staff and agencies as well as within the business community.
Ms. Ancona serves as the lead advocate to accomplish the goals set forth in the Florida Trade & Logistics Study 2.0 (TL2) through the newly created Florida Trade and Logistics Institute which actively works to expand Florida’s role as a global trade hub. She also serves as staff to the Chamber’s International Business Council and International Policy Committee which develops policy positions and recommendations on international trade and investment and works to promote Florida’s global competitiveness through advocacy.
Prior to joining the Florida Chamber Ms. Ancona was Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. She was the Chamber’s chief advocate and served as the principal a liaison between the Chamber and public sector on a wide range of public policy issues and was responsible for development, management and implementation of the Chamber’s public policy positions and advocacy strategies.
Ms. Ancona has experience in planning, developing, and implementing export programs and strategies for U.S. based companies; identifying and exploring export opportunities in overseas markets and market access problems affecting trade and has contributed to international trade research efforts. She has worked with a number of international trade stakeholders, business organizations, universities, and other strategic partners to advance and promote support for international trade and free trade agreements. These include developing grassroots international trade initiatives and activities designed to raise awareness of the benefits of international trade. Utilizing her diverse experiences in policy development, program management, and public affairs at local, federal, and international levels, she has integrated counseling on the design of effective policies and programs with traditional advocacy for implementation through legislative or administrative action.
Ms. Ancona is Vice Chair of Freight Transportation Advisory Committee (FTAC) of the Miami MPO, Regional Freight Advisory Committee member (RFAC) of the Southeast Florida Transportation Council (SEFTC), serves on the 2014-2015 Board of Directors for World Trade Center Miami, is member of the International Policy Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, member of the Florida International Trade Partnership and Recipient of the 2014 International Women’s Day Award from World Trade Center Miami.
Vice President of Global Innovation Policy, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
Stephen Ezell is vice president, global innovation policy, at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). He focuses on science and technology policy, international competitiveness, trade, manufacturing, and services issues.
He is the coauthor of Innovating in a Service-Driven Economy: Insights, Application, and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (Yale, 2012).
Ezell comes to ITIF from Peer Insight, an innovation research and consulting firm he cofounded in 2003 to study the practice of innovation in service industries. At Peer Insight, Ezell led the Global Service Innovation Consortium, published multiple research papers on service innovation, and researched national service innovation policies being implemented by governments worldwide.
Prior to forming Peer Insight, Ezell worked in the New Service Development group at the NASDAQ Stock Market, where he spearheaded the creation of the NASDAQ Market Intelligence Desk and the NASDAQ Corporate Services Network, services for NASDAQ-listed corporations. Previously, Ezell cofounded two successful innovation ventures, the high-tech services firm Brivo Systems and Lynx Capital, a boutique investment bank.
Ezell holds a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, with an honors certificate from Georgetown’s Landegger International Business Diplomacy program.
Senior Economic Policy Advisor, AFL-CIO
Thomas Palley is senior economic policy adviser to the AFL-CIO. He was formerly chief economist with the US – China Economic and Security Review Commission. Dr. Palley is the author of numerous journal and magazine articles and several books, including From Financial Crisis to Stagnation: The Destruction of Shared Prosperity and the Role of Economics(Cambridge University Press, 2012) and Plenty of Nothing: The Downsizing of the American Dream and the Case for Structural Keynesianism (Princeton University Press, 1998). He holds a B.A. degree from Oxford University and a M.A. degree in international relations and Ph.D. in economics, both from Yale University. His writings on economics are available at www.thomaspalley.com.
Jay Van Andel Senior Policy Analyst in Trade Policy, Center for, The Heritage Foundation
Bryan Riley is a full-time advocate for free trade through his research and writing for The Heritage Foundation. He brings years of experience in trade and economic issues to his role as Jay Van Andel senior analyst in trade policy.
Working in Heritage’s Center for Trade and Economics, Riley contributes to the influential Index of Economic Freedom, which the think tank publishes annually in partnership with The Wall Street Journal. The 2011 edition measured 183 countries across 10 specific factors of economic freedom: The higher the score, the lower the level of government interference.
Canada retained its top ranking for economic freedom among North American nations measured in 2010, moving up one slot in the world rankings to sixth. The United States continued to lose ground with a ninth-place finish. The U.S. score of 77.8 was down 0.2 points—largely the result of big government spending increases and passage of a restrictive health care law. In the 2010 Index, the United States dropped from the ranks of economically “free” nations into the “mostly free” category.
Riley’s background includes management of grassroots campaigns in support of trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, popularly known as NAFTA. When minivans became popular in the 1990s, for example, he helped defeat efforts to reclassify them as “cargo vehicles” instead of “passenger vehicles.” The “cargo” label would have subjected minivans and SUVs to an import tax of 25 percent.
Riley, who joined Heritage in 2010, especially enjoys serving as a myth-buster who counters inaccurate, misleading misinformation that hoodwinks the public and undermines free trade.
He grew up in Manhattan, Kansas. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Southern California. He currently resides in Washington, D.C., returning to the nation’s capital after several years in Kansas.
Mr. Morgan Wood Streetman is the founder and principal of Streetman Law in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Streetman is licensed to practice law in Florida and Mississippi, where he was born. He is also licensed to practice before all federal courts in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Mr. Streetman has a wealth of experience in business transactions and disputes. He advises small and closely-held businesses on all of their legal needs, which range from contracts with customers and vendors, to employee relations and human resources issues, to shareholder or member disputes, just to name a few.
Part of Mr. Streetman’s business practice is his focus on representing construction-related businesses and individuals. He has handled every aspect of construction law, including drafting contracts, helping individuals obtain proper licensing, construction liens, construction defect claims, and payment and performance bond claims against surety bonding companies.
Mr. Streetman represents individuals who have been injured by another’s negligence, which includes everything from car and trucking accidents, to dog bites, to a landlord’s allowing a criminal assailant to enter an apartment building common area and viciously attack a tenant by failing to secure common areas with locks and keys.
Mr. Streetman received his law degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Florida in Gainesville. While at the University of Florida, Mr. Streetman was honored with election to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. The Society invites less than 1 percent of graduating seniors to become members.
Principal Attorney, Woodring Law Firm
Mr. Daniel Woodring has lived in Florida for almost 30 years, but was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Florida, he has lived and worked in Pensacola, Clearwater, Jacksonville, Gainesville and Tallahassee. His wife Jean, who is also an attorney, was born in Miami, and grew up in Ft. Myers. They have a son and a daughter.
Mr. Woodring is recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer, an honor given to fewer than 5% of Florida Attorneys, and holds an Avvo “Superb” rating. Mr. Woodring also has an AV Preeminent® Peer Reviewrating. AV®, AV Preeminent® are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies, and the ratings are explained at www.martindale.com/ratings.
Mr. Woodring is a member of the Florida and Georgia Bars, and is admitted to practice before the Florida Federal Southern, Middle and Northern District Courts, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has worked at the trial level on cases in many of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits, in addition to cases in state administrative tribunals. He has argued cases at the Florida Supreme Court and Florida District Courts of Appeal, and has briefed cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.
He graduated from the University of Florida, College of Law with a Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude, and received his B.A. degree from Clearwater Christian College, Summa Cum Laude.
After law school, Mr. Woodring was in private practice doing general civil and appellate work. He then left for a two year appellate clerkship at the First District Court of Appeal. During his time at the court, he worked on cases including, but not limited to: criminal; family law; administrative law; workers’ compensation; business and civil law; constitutional law.
Mr. Woodring next worked as a counsel in the Executive Office of the Governor, Office of the General Counsel. During his time in Governor Bush’s Legal Office he had diverse responsibilities, including oversight and strategic litigation management of significant legal matters at numerous Governor’s agencies, including the Department of Education, Department of Management Services, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Department of Health, Agency for Health Care Administration, Department of Children and Families, Department of Community Affairs, Department of Elder affairs, Agency for Workforce Innovation, Department of Transportation, and the Department of State.
He was also legally responsible for topics as disparate as emergency operations; advising the Governor on the selection of judges; implementation of civil service reform; reform of workers’ compensation; budget and appropriation matters; Indian gaming law; and legally advising the Florida Cabinet sitting in its many capacities, such as the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission.
Mr. Daniel Woodring was then offered the opportunity to be General Counsel for the Florida Department of Education, which encompassed Pre-K though 12th grade, community colleges(now State colleges) and the Florida University System. He was also the first General Counsel for the Florida Board of Governors, when that Board was constitutionally created to manage the State University System.
During almost five years at the Department of Education, Mr. Woodring advised and litigated on matters including, but not limited to: constitutional challenges to Florida’s education programs, including Opportunity Scholarships and the charter school approval and appeal process; doing away with race as a preference in university admissions and state contracting; teacher and professional discipline cases; union, labor and employment matters; state procurement and bid protest proceedings; administrative rule challenges and rule making proceedings; IDEA and Section 504 proceedings; public records, government in the sunshine and ethical matters; contract negotiations and disputes.
Since 2007, Mr. Woodring has been back in private practice as the principal of the Woodring Law Firm, located in Tallahassee, Florida, but with a statewide practice, including Pensacola, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa Bay, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Ft. Myers, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami. He concentrates his practice on appeals; constitutional cases in both state and federal court; education law matters, including charter school represention; Business litigation; and state administrative matters, including state procurement, regulation and licensing, rule challenges and proposed rule making, although he also handles cases in many other areas.
Please look at the individual practice areas on the left menu for more information.
Mr. Woodring is a member of the Appellate, Administrative, and Governmental Lawyer sections of the Florida Bar and served as Chair of the Education Law Committee of the Florida Bar.
Former Secretary; U.S. Department of Labor
Rene Alexander Acosta is an American attorney and politician, who served as the 27th United States Secretary of Labor from 2017 to 2019.
Secretary Acosta is the son of Cuban refugees, a native of Miami, and first-generation college graduate. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University.
Following law school, he worked as a law clerk for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He then worked at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis and went on to teach at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law.
Secretary Acosta has served in three presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed positions. In 2002, he was appointed to serve as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, where he participated in or authored more than 125 opinions. In 2003, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and from 2005 to 2009 he served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Prior to his tenure at the Department of Labor, Secretary Acosta served as the dean of the FIU College of Law.
Secretary Acosta has twice been named one of the nation’s 50 most influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine. He was also named to the list of 100 most influential individuals in business ethics in 2008. In 2013, the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce presented him with the Chairman’s Higher Education Award in recognition of his “outstanding achievements, leadership and determination throughout a lifetime of caring and giving back to the community.”
Secretary Acosta and his wife enjoy spending time together as a family, raising their two daughters.
Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Justice Charles Canady was born in Lakeland, Florida, in 1954. He is married to Jennifer Houghton, and they have two children. He received his B.A. from Haverford College in 1976 and his J.D. from the Yale Law School in 1979.
Justice Canady practiced law with the firm of Holland and Knight in Lakeland from 1979 through 1982. He practiced with the firm of Lane, Trohn, et al., from 1983 through 1992.
From November 1984 to November 1990, Justice Canady served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives, and from January 1993 to January 2001, he served four terms in the United States House of Representatives. Throughout his service in Congress, Justice Canady was a member of the House Judiciary Committee. For three terms, from January 1995 to January 2001, Justice Canady was the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.
Upon leaving Congress, Justice Canady became General Counsel to Governor Jeb Bush. He was appointed by Governor Bush to the Second District Court of Appeal for a term beginning November 20, 2002.
On August 28, 2008, Justice Canady was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Charlie Crist and took office on September 8, 2008. He served as Chief Justice from July 2010 through June 2012. In March 2018, he was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chief Justice for a second time, with his two-year term starting July 1, 2018, and a third time starting July 1, 2020.
Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
William H. Pryor Jr. serves as Chief Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
In 2013–18, he served on the United States Sentencing Commission and, in 2017–18, served as Acting Chair.
He has taught as a visiting professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and previously taught as an adjunct professor at the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University.
He served as the 45th Attorney General of Alabama from 1997 to 2004. When he took office, he was the youngest attorney general in the nation. In his reelection, he received the highest percentage of votes of any statewide candidate.
He graduated magna cum laude from Tulane Law School where he finished first in the common-law curriculum and was editor in chief of the Tulane Law Review. He then served as a law clerk for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
He is a member of The American Law Institute and an Adviser for the RESTATEMENT OF THE LAW THIRD, CONFLICT OF LAWS. He is a coauthor with Bryan Garner, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, and several other judges of a treatise, THE LAW OF JUDICIAL PRECEDENT. He has published in the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Yale Law & Policy Review, George Mason Law Review, Florida Law Review, Alabama Law Review, Case Western Reserve Law Review, and Tulane Law Review. He has published op-eds in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, National Review, and USA Today. He has debated at National Lawyers’ Conventions of the Federalist Society (including on National Public Radio) and at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom. And he is listed among several “widely admired judicial writers” in Bryan Garner’s The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style.
He is a member of the Tulane Law School Hall of Fame and has received the Defender of the Constitution Award from the Heritage Foundation, the Jurist of the Year Award from the Texas Review of Law & Politics, and the St. Thomas More Award from the St. Thomas More Society of Atlanta. Judge Pryor is also a proud member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Mr. Morgan Wood Streetman is the founder and principal of Streetman Law in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Streetman is licensed to practice law in Florida and Mississippi, where he was born. He is also licensed to practice before all federal courts in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Mr. Streetman has a wealth of experience in business transactions and disputes. He advises small and closely-held businesses on all of their legal needs, which range from contracts with customers and vendors, to employee relations and human resources issues, to shareholder or member disputes, just to name a few.
Part of Mr. Streetman’s business practice is his focus on representing construction-related businesses and individuals. He has handled every aspect of construction law, including drafting contracts, helping individuals obtain proper licensing, construction liens, construction defect claims, and payment and performance bond claims against surety bonding companies.
Mr. Streetman represents individuals who have been injured by another’s negligence, which includes everything from car and trucking accidents, to dog bites, to a landlord’s allowing a criminal assailant to enter an apartment building common area and viciously attack a tenant by failing to secure common areas with locks and keys.
Mr. Streetman received his law degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Florida in Gainesville. While at the University of Florida, Mr. Streetman was honored with election to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. The Society invites less than 1 percent of graduating seniors to become members.
Former Secretary; U.S. Department of Labor
Rene Alexander Acosta is an American attorney and politician, who served as the 27th United States Secretary of Labor from 2017 to 2019.
Secretary Acosta is the son of Cuban refugees, a native of Miami, and first-generation college graduate. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University.
Following law school, he worked as a law clerk for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He then worked at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis and went on to teach at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law.
Secretary Acosta has served in three presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed positions. In 2002, he was appointed to serve as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, where he participated in or authored more than 125 opinions. In 2003, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and from 2005 to 2009 he served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Prior to his tenure at the Department of Labor, Secretary Acosta served as the dean of the FIU College of Law.
Secretary Acosta has twice been named one of the nation’s 50 most influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine. He was also named to the list of 100 most influential individuals in business ethics in 2008. In 2013, the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce presented him with the Chairman’s Higher Education Award in recognition of his “outstanding achievements, leadership and determination throughout a lifetime of caring and giving back to the community.”
Secretary Acosta and his wife enjoy spending time together as a family, raising their two daughters.
Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Justice Charles Canady was born in Lakeland, Florida, in 1954. He is married to Jennifer Houghton, and they have two children. He received his B.A. from Haverford College in 1976 and his J.D. from the Yale Law School in 1979.
Justice Canady practiced law with the firm of Holland and Knight in Lakeland from 1979 through 1982. He practiced with the firm of Lane, Trohn, et al., from 1983 through 1992.
From November 1984 to November 1990, Justice Canady served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives, and from January 1993 to January 2001, he served four terms in the United States House of Representatives. Throughout his service in Congress, Justice Canady was a member of the House Judiciary Committee. For three terms, from January 1995 to January 2001, Justice Canady was the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.
Upon leaving Congress, Justice Canady became General Counsel to Governor Jeb Bush. He was appointed by Governor Bush to the Second District Court of Appeal for a term beginning November 20, 2002.
On August 28, 2008, Justice Canady was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Charlie Crist and took office on September 8, 2008. He served as Chief Justice from July 2010 through June 2012. In March 2018, he was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chief Justice for a second time, with his two-year term starting July 1, 2018, and a third time starting July 1, 2020.
Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
William H. Pryor Jr. serves as Chief Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
In 2013–18, he served on the United States Sentencing Commission and, in 2017–18, served as Acting Chair.
He has taught as a visiting professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and previously taught as an adjunct professor at the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University.
He served as the 45th Attorney General of Alabama from 1997 to 2004. When he took office, he was the youngest attorney general in the nation. In his reelection, he received the highest percentage of votes of any statewide candidate.
He graduated magna cum laude from Tulane Law School where he finished first in the common-law curriculum and was editor in chief of the Tulane Law Review. He then served as a law clerk for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
He is a member of The American Law Institute and an Adviser for the RESTATEMENT OF THE LAW THIRD, CONFLICT OF LAWS. He is a coauthor with Bryan Garner, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, and several other judges of a treatise, THE LAW OF JUDICIAL PRECEDENT. He has published in the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Yale Law & Policy Review, George Mason Law Review, Florida Law Review, Alabama Law Review, Case Western Reserve Law Review, and Tulane Law Review. He has published op-eds in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, National Review, and USA Today. He has debated at National Lawyers’ Conventions of the Federalist Society (including on National Public Radio) and at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom. And he is listed among several “widely admired judicial writers” in Bryan Garner’s The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style.
He is a member of the Tulane Law School Hall of Fame and has received the Defender of the Constitution Award from the Heritage Foundation, the Jurist of the Year Award from the Texas Review of Law & Politics, and the St. Thomas More Award from the St. Thomas More Society of Atlanta. Judge Pryor is also a proud member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Mr. Morgan Wood Streetman is the founder and principal of Streetman Law in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Streetman is licensed to practice law in Florida and Mississippi, where he was born. He is also licensed to practice before all federal courts in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Mr. Streetman has a wealth of experience in business transactions and disputes. He advises small and closely-held businesses on all of their legal needs, which range from contracts with customers and vendors, to employee relations and human resources issues, to shareholder or member disputes, just to name a few.
Part of Mr. Streetman’s business practice is his focus on representing construction-related businesses and individuals. He has handled every aspect of construction law, including drafting contracts, helping individuals obtain proper licensing, construction liens, construction defect claims, and payment and performance bond claims against surety bonding companies.
Mr. Streetman represents individuals who have been injured by another’s negligence, which includes everything from car and trucking accidents, to dog bites, to a landlord’s allowing a criminal assailant to enter an apartment building common area and viciously attack a tenant by failing to secure common areas with locks and keys.
Mr. Streetman received his law degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Florida in Gainesville. While at the University of Florida, Mr. Streetman was honored with election to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. The Society invites less than 1 percent of graduating seniors to become members.
Mr. Morgan Wood Streetman is the founder and principal of Streetman Law in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Streetman is licensed to practice law in Florida and Mississippi, where he was born. He is also licensed to practice before all federal courts in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Mr. Streetman has a wealth of experience in business transactions and disputes. He advises small and closely-held businesses on all of their legal needs, which range from contracts with customers and vendors, to employee relations and human resources issues, to shareholder or member disputes, just to name a few.
Part of Mr. Streetman’s business practice is his focus on representing construction-related businesses and individuals. He has handled every aspect of construction law, including drafting contracts, helping individuals obtain proper licensing, construction liens, construction defect claims, and payment and performance bond claims against surety bonding companies.
Mr. Streetman represents individuals who have been injured by another’s negligence, which includes everything from car and trucking accidents, to dog bites, to a landlord’s allowing a criminal assailant to enter an apartment building common area and viciously attack a tenant by failing to secure common areas with locks and keys.
Mr. Streetman received his law degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Florida in Gainesville. While at the University of Florida, Mr. Streetman was honored with election to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. The Society invites less than 1 percent of graduating seniors to become members.
Founder, President, and General Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Rick Esenberg is the founder and current President and General Counsel of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a rapidly expanding law and policy organization headquartered in Milwaukee. Under Rick’s leadership, WILL has grown into one of the more active state-based think tanks and litigation centers in the country. Rick is a frequent litigator in state and federal courts and nationally recognized scholar and commentator on constitutional law, particularly the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech and religion. He is one of the leading experts on the Wisconsin Constitution and a frequent advocate before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Rick’s work seeks to advance the rule of law and individual liberty, formed by a robust civil society that forms individual and community character, preserving the wisdom of the past and an openness to the future.
Rick’s commentary has been featured in such outlets as the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Weekly Standard, Real Clear Politics, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Washington Examiner. Formerly on the faculty of Marquette University Law School, his scholarship has appeared in such publications as the Harvard Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Wake Forest Law Review and William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. Back when they were a thing, he operated a blog called Shark and Shepherd where he tried to suggest something about the duality of man – “the Jungian thing.”
Rick holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and a B.A., summa cum laude, in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition to service on the Marquette Faculty, he was formerly a litigation partner at Foley & Lardner and General Counsel of an international manufacturing firm headquartered in Wisconsin. He lives in Mequon Wisconsin with his wife Karen, golden retrievers Cooper and Riley and more books than he can find places for.
Legal Scholar and Solo Practitioner
Jack received his B.A. in History from the University of Virginia in 1977, graduating with Highest Distinction. After graduating Yale Law School in 1980, he served active duty in the U.S. Army's JAG Corps, rising to the rank of Major, where he represented the United States in more than 250 cases.
He practiced for a decade as an Associate for Bradley Arant in Birmingham, Alabama. He proudly served the State of Alabama in the Office of the Attorney General, both as Deputy and Assistant Attorney General, handling complex civil and criminal litigation cases for the people of Alabama. In 2000, he won the "Best Brief Award" from the National Association of Attorneys General for his brief in a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, James Alexander v. Martha Sandoval – a case he won. He was Special Assistant to the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service, Visiting Legal Fellow for the Center for Judicial and Legal Studies for the Heritage Foundation, Of Counsel at Strickland Brockington Lewis, a solo practitioner, and General Counsel for Indigo Energy.
Most recently, he "re-upped" for military service, volunteering his legal services to the Georgia State Defense Force where twice each month he provided legal services for National Guardsmen who were being deployed. He wore his military uniform for the last time in October 2024.
Jack Park passed away on March 16, 2026.
Mr. Morgan Wood Streetman is the founder and principal of Streetman Law in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Streetman is licensed to practice law in Florida and Mississippi, where he was born. He is also licensed to practice before all federal courts in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Mr. Streetman has a wealth of experience in business transactions and disputes. He advises small and closely-held businesses on all of their legal needs, which range from contracts with customers and vendors, to employee relations and human resources issues, to shareholder or member disputes, just to name a few.
Part of Mr. Streetman’s business practice is his focus on representing construction-related businesses and individuals. He has handled every aspect of construction law, including drafting contracts, helping individuals obtain proper licensing, construction liens, construction defect claims, and payment and performance bond claims against surety bonding companies.
Mr. Streetman represents individuals who have been injured by another’s negligence, which includes everything from car and trucking accidents, to dog bites, to a landlord’s allowing a criminal assailant to enter an apartment building common area and viciously attack a tenant by failing to secure common areas with locks and keys.
Mr. Streetman received his law degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Florida in Gainesville. While at the University of Florida, Mr. Streetman was honored with election to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. The Society invites less than 1 percent of graduating seniors to become members.
Florida and the Future of Trade Policy
Alice Ancona, Stephen Ezell, Thomas Palley, Bryan Riley, Morgan W. Streetman, Daniel Woodring
2017 Annual Florida Chapters Conference
This panel, Florida and the Future of Trade Policy, was held on February 4, 2017,...
Florida and the Future of Trade Policy
Alice Ancona, Stephen Ezell, Thomas Palley, Bryan Riley, Morgan W. Streetman, Daniel Woodring
2017 Annual Florida Chapters Conference
This panel, Florida and the Future of Trade Policy, was held on February 4, 2017,...
A Conversation on Judging
R. Alexander Acosta, Charles T. Canady, William H. Pryor, Morgan W. Streetman
2016 Annual Florida Chapters Conference
This panel was part of the 2016 Annual Florida Chapters Conference at Disney's Boardwalk Inn...
A Conversation on Judging
R. Alexander Acosta, Charles T. Canady, William H. Pryor, Morgan W. Streetman
2016 Annual Florida Chapters Conference
This panel was part of the 2016 Annual Florida Chapters Conference at Disney's Boardwalk Inn...
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2008
Jennifer Wolsing, Morgan W. Streetman, Deborah O'Malley, Rick M. Esenberg, John J. Park
In an effort to increase dialogue about state court jurisprudence, the Federalist Society presents the...
Florida Court Snapshot
Morgan W. Streetman
Florida Supreme Court Takes A Stand Against “Gubernatorial Activism”
On July 3, 2008, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Florida Governor Charlie Crist usurped...