Governor Ron DeSantis today announced his appointment of Julie Imanuel Brown as Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The appointment is effective Monday, February 22, 2021.
“I’m pleased to appoint Julie Imanuel Brown as Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Julie brings a unique blend of experience in the private and public sectors, as well as the legal field, including over 10 years of service on the Florida Public Service Commission and various corporate positions. I’m confident she will do a great job in our continued fight to cut red tape and ease regulation on our businesses and hard-working Floridians.”
“I’m honored to be appointed by Governor DeSantis to this important position, which impacts millions of Floridians,” said Julie Imanuel Brown. “As Secretary, I will work to build on the Governor’s foundation to implement meaningful occupational licensing reform, as well with business leaders and business owners during Florida’s economic recovery.”
Julie Brown
Secretary, Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Julie Imanuel Brown has served on Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) since 2011 and served as Commission Chairman from January 2016-January 2018. In this role, she has served as one of five Commissioners responsible for ensuring Floridians receive electric, natural gas, telephone, water, and wastewater in a safe, reasonable, and reliable manner.
During her 2-year chairmanship on the PSC, the state of Florida experienced massive impacts for the first time in over a decade from multiple catastrophic hurricanes. In addition to serving as chief administrative officer and presiding over all technical hearings as chief judge, Chair Brown led the PSC’s review and recommendation for future action to bolster Florida’s electric utility storm hardening efforts for years to come. In addition, Chair Brown presided and led all agenda conferences, service hearings and other administrative proceedings, while also being responsible for oversight of a $25,000,000 budget and a technical staff of approximately 280 employees.
Before serving on the PSC, Brown was Associate Legal Counsel of First American Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, where she handled a variety of legal issues in the Eastern, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic Regions, including corporate compliance with regulatory authorities. She previously worked as a corporate attorney at Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick, LLP in Tampa; Director of Franchise Sales & Development for Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc.; and as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Tampa.
Brown is very active in her community and dedicated to public service. In 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Commissioner Brown to serve as one of 11 on the Florida Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission to ensure the statewide observance of the centennial of women’s suffrage and she has previously served on the City of Tampa’s Architectural Review Commission. Additionally, Brown serves on the Board of Directors and is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners (NARUC) and previously served as Chairman of the Florida Legislature’s Study Committee on Investor-Owned Water & Wastewater Utility Systems.
Commissioner Brown graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida, where she was the recipient of the Outstanding Female Leader award, President of Florida Blue Key, inducted into the Hall of Fame, and received the Dean’s Cup for the College of Journalism and Communications. She earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, is a member of the Florida Bar, and a member of Leadership Florida, Class XXXIII.
Commissioner Brown is a member of the Florida Bar and hold’s a Florida Real Estate Broker’s License. She and her husband have two children.
