CLASS NOTES Shannon Fenn Hughes (B.S. ’85), president of the Florida Public Health Association, was named director for the State of Florida’s Division of Community Health Promotion, after serving as interim director.
Michelle Ubben (M.A. ’88), COO at Sachs Media Group, was named by PR News as one of the Top Women in PR.
Ida Thompson (B.S. ’85, B.S. ’86), Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare major gifts officer, was named one of the Tallahassee Democrat’s 2016 25 Women You Need to Know.
Diane Orlofsky (Ph.D. ’86), professor of music and director of choirs at Troy University, received the 2016 Outstanding Educator Award from the Alabama Music Educators Association. Peggy Hsieh (Ph.D. ’87), Betty M. Watts professor in Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, retired after 14 years at the College of Human Sciences. Thomas Lanners (B.M. ’87), professor of piano at Oklahoma State University, received the 2014 Distinguished Teacher Award from the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association.
▼ Omar Franco Omar Franco (B.A. ’88), managing director of Becker & Poliakoff’s Washington, D.C., office and federal government lobbyist, was nominated by Sen. Orrin Hatch to serve on the advisory committee of the U.S. Senate Republican Task Force on Hispanic Affairs. Craig Mateer (B.S. ’88), founder and CEO of Bags Inc., became a member of the FSU Board of Trustees.
▲ Michelle Ubben
JORGE GONZALEZ (B.S. ’87, M.S.P. ’89) With its sparkling water and white sand beaches, millions want to retire, live or vacation in the Florida Panhandle. Jorge Gonzalez, president and CEO of The St. Joe Co., plays a central role in how that land is developed. “We spend a lot of time and effort planning and designing our communities so they effortlessly integrate into Florida’s natural beauty, creating a lifestyle that our residents will enjoy for generations to come,” he says of the company’s 178,000 acres, which includes primary and vacation homes, resorts, shopping centers, commercial parks, golf courses and timberland.
Gonzalez explains land development plans in the Florida Panhandle. Photo by Andrew Wardlow,
The News Herald
52 Vires
The Florida-based real estate developer and manager is one of the state’s largest private landowners. Gonzalez was appointed CEO last fall after supervising a complex process of obtaining government land-use approvals for the Bay-Walton Sector Plan, which is expected to include residential communities for active retirees and a range of other communities. “It’s a 50-year vision,” says Gonzalez, “that includes developing 110,000 acres to create 170,000 homes and 22 million square feet of commercial use.”
His interest in real estate began at FSU, where he majored in political science and then earned his master’s degree in urban and regional planning with a concentration in real estate development and analysis. During graduate school, he spent the summer working with local organizations to revitalize a downtown area in Alachua County. “At FSU, I got to meet and work with people from all different backgrounds and disciplines,” says Gonzalez. “FSU also taught me how to think critically: to gather and analyze the right information before drawing conclusions.” After graduating, Gonzalez worked in urban planning in the public and private sector before landing at St. Joe 14 years ago. “I really enjoy seeing a project come to fruition. It’s a pretty robust process of planning and projections,” says Gonzalez, “so it’s very rewarding when I get to see communities take shape from the land.”