RISING STARS
Jeff Scala By Andrew Meacham
F
or most people, staying on top of policy opportunities for each of the state’s 67 counties would feel about as comfortable as a hand on a stove burner. Jeff Scala, who does that and much more for the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), has seized upon that kind of work like a kid with an Xbox. Scala, FAC’s senior associate director of public policy, recently worked behind the scenes to design and pull off the first statewide broadband conference of this size and scale. Access 67 Broadband Summit, held in January in Ponte Vedra, drew around 250 conventioneers representing state and federal agencies, with a goal of connecting counties with the tools to apply for millions in federal grants. “We put everybody in one room, under one roof at the same time, with nothing competing with it,” said Ginger Delegal, FAC’s Executive Director. “Jeff ended up really heading the programming, putting together the workshops and getting the moderators, which for someone of his age and
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INFLUENCE Spring 2023
“He comes in with a strategic mind and an appreciation for politics ...” – ginger delegal experience was a tall task. And he delivered with flying colors.” Since joining the association as a policy analyst, he has delved into water and the environment, taxes, economic development, rural affairs — and, most recently, cyber security and other tech issues. “Maybe because I’m the millennial on the team,” Scala, 31, said. Scala also serves as president of the Florida Association of Intergovernmental Relations, an association of city and county governmental relations professionals. It almost didn’t happen that way. Scala grew up in Tarpon Springs, where his parents had moved from the Philadelphia area. For as long as he can remember, he always followed political news. “I just always had this fascination,” he said. He chose Florida State University in part because it was in the capital city, majoring in political science. He learned the value of public service from his father, Howard Scala, who died when Jeff was 18. The elder Scala