UWF Board Appointments: The Hidden Story

Political Games in DeSantis’s Appointments Office

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis should write a textbook on how power consolidation works when nobody’s paying attention. One chapter must be devoted to the political maneuvering happening right under our noses at the University of West Florida.

The Initial Appointments

On January 24, I requested the applications of the newly appointed members of the UWF Board of Trustees from both the State University System and the Governor’s Office. A simple transparency request, right? Wrong.

In early January, Gov. DeSantis announced his picks: Paul Bailey, Gates Garcia, Adam Kissel, Scot Yenor, and Chris Young. On December 19, the Florida Board of Governors appointed their three: Rebecca Matthews, Ashley Ross, and Rachel Moya. None of the appointees were locals, and the eight gave the governor control of the 13-member UWF Board of Trustees.

What happened next? On Jan. 23, all eight trustees unanimously voted to name Boise State professor Scott Yenor as board chairman. Yenor then promptly installed Kissell as chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee.

Records Runaround

After submitting my records request, I received the standard bureaucratic response: “Thank you for submitting your request… generally, our office responds to requests in the order they are received…” Translation: We’ll get to it when we feel like it.

By February 19, I had only received the BOG appointees’ applications—nothing from the governor’s office. So I called our State Senator Don Gaetz and asked if he had received Yenor and Kissel’s applications. His response: no. Gaetz suspected the governor would delay sending them to his committee as long as possible. According to today’s PNJ report, that’s precisely what happened.

Background: The Senate Confirmation Process

In Florida, gubernatorial appointees to university boards of trustees must be confirmed by the Florida Senate, and Gaetz chairs the committee that decides whether the appointees should be forwarded for a floor vote. The process typically works like this:

The Governor or Board of Governors makes the initial appointment
The appointee’s application and credentials are forwarded to the Ethics and Elections Committee
The committee reviews the applications, potentially holds hearings, and votes on whether to recommend confirmation
The full Senate then votes on the confirmation

Until they’re confirmed, these appointees serve in an interim capacity and maintain full voting powers. However, if the Senate fails to confirm them during the legislative session, they must step down from their positions.

This explains why DeSantis hasn’t sent Yenor and Kissel to the Ethics and Elections Committee.

Dig Deeper – A Pattern of Delay, Descovich Case Study

The Tina Descovich situation provides a perfect case study of how this system can be manipulated. As co-founder of Moms for Liberty, Descovich was initially appointed to the Florida Commission on Ethics by Governor DeSantis in September 2023.

Confirmation Rejection: In March 2024, the Republican-led Florida Senate declined to confirm her appointment. This rare rejection came after an unnamed senator raised concerns that her employment with Moms for Liberty “could constitute lobbying the Legislature” – a direct conflict with ethics commission rules barring members from lobbying state and local governments.

Continuing to Serve Without Confirmation: Descovich never left the Ethics Commission despite this rejection. Instead, DeSantis reappointed her after the legislative session ended, allowing her to continue serving without Senate approval. This created a situation where someone explicitly rejected by the Senate continued to hold a position overseeing government ethics in Florida.

Not only did Descovich continue serving on the commission without Senate confirmation, but in December 2024, she was unanimously elected as Vice Chair of the Ethics Commission. This promotion came despite:

1. She never received Senate confirmation
2. Outstanding concerns about potential conflicts of interest
3. A formal ethics complaint filed by a Melbourne resident alleging she was unqualified for the position due to lobbying restrictions

The Current Situation: Most recently, in February 2025, DeSantis reappointed Descovich yet again, marking her second reappointment without Senate confirmation. This creates an ongoing cycle in which the governor can indefinitely maintain appointees in positions of power regardless of whether they can secure Senate approval.

This has occurred without ever receiving the Senate confirmation that Florida law ostensibly requires for such positions.

What About the BOG Appointees?

I’ve reviewed three applications for UWF Board of Trustees positions selected by the Board of Governors. Here’s a summary of each applicant:

1. Ashley Plant Ross
– Completed application on 12/13/2024
– Applying for University of West Florida (UWF)
– Current occupation: President of Ross Consulting LLC
– Education: H.B. Plant High School (2001), B.S. in Business (Marketing) from FSU (2001-2005), MBA from FSU (2010-2013)
– Previously worked as Deputy Chief of Staff for Florida Senate (2016-2018)
– Has served on non-profit boards including Companion Animal Rescue Endeavor, Junior Achievement of N. FL, and Holy Comforter Episcopal School
– Was a registered lobbyist (ended 3/4/2021) representing various organizations
– Currently serves on Governor’s Mansion Commission (2023-Present)

2. Rebecca Shelton Matthews
– Completed application on 12/14/2024
– Applying for University of West Florida (UWF)
– Current occupation: Vice President at Automated Health Systems
– Education: Chamberlain High School (1996), B.S. in Communications and Minor in Political Science from FSU (1996-2000)
– Extensive government experience including Chief of Staff/Deputy Chief of Staff at Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (2008-2015)
– Previously CEO of Florida Healthy Kids Corporation (2015-2019)
– Currently Chair of Florida Education Foundation
– Previously appointed to the Florida Board of Physical Therapy (2023-2024)
– Extensive experience in healthcare administration and education policy

3. Rachel Kay Moya
– Completed application on 10/25/2024
– Applying for University of West Florida (UWF)
– Current occupation: Chief Revenue Officer at The Amos Group
– Education: Hilton Head High School (2003), Bachelor’s from University of South Carolina (2003-2007), Master’s from American Military University (2009-2011), PhD from Walden University (2012-2017), Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University (2022)
– Previously owned a consulting firm
– Served on the Education Market Association’s board
– Experience on Beaufort County (SC) Board of Education
– Managed $320M operating budget and $783M in referenda spending

PROBLEM: Only Ross’ application was submitted more than a week before the Board of Governors’s meeting. Someone obviously recruited Matthews and Roya to serve. The powers behind the scenes did not want Pensacola attorney Stephanie White, who had requested to serve another term.

BOTTOM LINE

This is how DeSantis’ appointment system operates when nobody’s watching closely enough. Appointments are made, positions are filled, and the paperwork follows at whatever pace benefits those in power.

The question remains: what’s in those applications that the governor’s office doesn’t want the Senate committee to see until the last possible moment?

Photo: Licensed under the Unsplash+ License

3 thoughts on “UWF Board Appointments: The Hidden Story”

C. Anderson Romagnano says:

March 8, 2025 at 11:14 am

The time has come for UWF to have a law school, medical school, and become the truly premiere university it was meant to be.
Coco Campus says:

March 8, 2025 at 8:38 am

Thanks for the investigative reporting! Are exposure and hope the only resources we’re working with or are there steps for changing this pattern of disregard for the law by Ron Desantis?
Gary Sammons says:

March 8, 2025 at 5:49 am

I don’t know what is in those applications, but my bet is, it iss not near as scandalous as some might want people to think. The media has a tendency to paint elected officials in a bad light, or their worst light, especially if they have an R by their name, because it generates clicks. Why all the huffing and puffing? What has gone haywire and is not happening at UWF as a result of the Gov’s appointments, that we are now expected to light our hair on fire about??? Pretty much nothing? Or something egregious?

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UWF Board Appointments: The Hidden Story

Political Games in DeSantis’s Appointments Office

The Initial Appointments

Records Runaround

Background: The Senate Confirmation Process

Dig Deeper – A Pattern of Delay, Descovich Case Study

What About the BOG Appointees?

BOTTOM LINE

3 thoughts on “UWF Board Appointments: The Hidden Story”

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