State Senator Audrey Gibson on Monday was unanimously elected Leader of the Florida Senate Democratic Caucus for the 2018-2020 legislative term.
Her selection marks only the third time a woman will serve in the position, the second African American woman to do so.
“I deeply appreciate the title of Leader of this Caucus,” said the Jacksonville Democrat in remarks delivered on the Senate Floor. “But I consider the role more as a bridge builder for purposes so much larger. The Democratic Caucus embraces a wide ethnic and regional diversity of individuals and communities. Our mission is to lift all voices. Our task is to recognize all of their concerns.”
A native of Jacksonville, Leader Gibson graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Criminology, and works as a paralegal and community liaison with the Terrell Hogan law firm.
She serves with numerous organizations outside of her legislative work, including the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Infrastructure, Community Hospice of Northeast Florida Board of Directors, and Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corporation.
She has testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Juvenile Boot Camps and related issues, and has been the recipient of many awards and recognitions from a host of prominent organizations including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the Florida League of Cities, the Children’s Home Society, and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Senator Gibson was first elected to the Senate in 2011, and served from 2002 – 2010 in the Florida House of Representatives.
In the Senate, she most recently chaired the Military and Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security Committee, and served as a member on the following committees: Appropriations, Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development, Commerce and Tourism, Judiciary, Regulated Industries, and Joint Legislative Auditing Committee.
She is the mother of three adult children: Kwanzaa Spells, Amar Madyum and Jamaal Madyun. A devotee of both NASCAR and Formula 1, in her off-time, Senator Gibson can also be found at other sporting events, watching period movies, or tending to her flower garden.
