After my post this morning, I received notification the State Board of Governors did not renew the appointments of Suzanne Lewis, Jill Singer and Stephanie White. At its December meeting, the Board of Governors appointed Rebecca Matthews (effective Jan. 7), Ashley Ross (effective Jan. 7) and Rachel Moya (effective Dec. 19, 2024).
Background: The UWF Board of Trustees is the 13-member governing body for the institution. The Governor of Florida appoints six of the members who serve five-year terms, and the Board of Governors appoints five of the members who serve five-year terms. All of these must be approved by the Senate. The president of the Faculty Senate holds one of those places. The final member is the president of the Student Government Association.
- This latest news shows that the board will have eight new members. If they vote as a bloc, they will control UWF.
MEET NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Ashley Ross heads Ross Consulting in Tallahassee. The company specializes in:
– Professional fundraising
– Campaign consulting
– Public affairs
Ross has nearly two decades of high-level political and public affairs experience. Her roles have included:
– Top advisor to several Senate Presidents
– Consultant for candidates running for statewide office
– Advisor to members of legislative leadership
Governor Ron DeSantis recently reappointed her to the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), which is part of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Rebecca Matthews is the vice president of Automated Health Systems. She also is based in Tallahassee. Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. appointed her to the Florida Education Foundation Board of Directors 2021. She served as Florida Healthy Kids Corporation (2015-2019, and chief of staff for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (2008-2015).
Rachel Moya is the Chief Revenue Officer for education data and technology company, The Amos Group.
website profile:
Born and raised on Hilton Head Island, SC, Dr. Rachel Moya received her BS in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina, her MA in Intelligence Studies with a focus in Operations from American Military University and PhD in Public Policy and Administration from Walden University. In 2022, Dr. Moya completed her Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
She is a wife and mom/stepmom to 5 daughters and a son and resident of Ponte Vedra, FL.
Experienced Policy Professional & Elected Official
Dr. Rachel Moya served as Chairman of a not-for-profit scholarship organization and recently served 6+ years on the Beaufort County Board of Education.
In 2018, she was elected to serve as the Beaufort County Board of Education representative for District 7. Her committee appointments included:
Ad Hoc Attorney (Chair) 2019
Ad Hoc Policy 2019
Ad Hoc Coherent Governance 2019
Coherent Governance 2020
Policy (Chair) 2021-2024
Finance 2019-2023
Ad Hoc Bluffton Growth (Chair) 2020-2024
Legislative (2022-2024, 2024 appointed Chair)
She proudly represented the diverse and rapidly growing Bluffton/Pritchardville population and Beaufort County student body of over 21,000.
In her role as a Beaufort County Board of Education representative, Dr. Moya was also appointed to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Beaufort-Jasper Academy of Career Excellence (BJACE) from 2018-2020. The mission of BJACE is to prepare the students of Beaufort and Jasper counties to become qualified workforce members by offering Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs leading to industry certifications, technical skills attainment, and soft skills training necessary to support current regional and national business needs.
Recently, she served 3 years as a Director-At-Large on the Board of Directors for the Education Market Association (EDmarket). Founded in 1916, EDmarket promotes an open market for quality educational products and services that are produced and delivered by professional suppliers and dealers.
Dr. Moya was appointed in December 2024 to the University of West Florida Board of Trustees.
Education & Policy Professional
Dr. Rachel Moya currently leads as Chief Revenue Officer for education data and technology company, The Amos Group.
She founded and was the Chief Executive Officer of Your Day, LLC, which provided consulting, marketing, image and fundraising services for political organizations, candidates, issue-based organization, private companies & non-profits. Her work has been seen on CNN, NBC, NewsMax & many local media outlets.
Featured Photo Licensed under the Unsplash+ License