Mainstreet Daily News
Governor Ron DeSantis appointed four members to the Santa Fe College District Board of Trustees on Friday evening―Carrie Lee, Emery Gainey, Lisa Prevatt and Robert Woody. The Florida Senate must still approve the appointees in order to finalize the nominations.
Three of the appointees, Lee, Prevatt and Woody, currently serve on the board.
The state Legislature created the board shortly after Santa Fe College’s founding in 1965 to rule the college. Lawmakers believed “that local governance by a citizen board is the best means to ensure that the college is effective and responsive in its service district and the state.”
Carrie Lee is the owner of Florida Blue Farms and previous teacher in Marion County. She served as a commissioner of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women, receiving the Florida Achievement Award for her work.
She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from UF as well as a master’s in religious education from Loyola University. Lee was appointed to the board in 2012 and reappointed in 2015.
Emery Gainey, the newcomer of the appointments, has served as chief of staff to both Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. Former Gov. Rick Scott appointed Gainey as sheriff of Marion County in 2016, a role he filled until January 2017.
He has also worked on Florida’s Constitutional Revision Commission and the 8th Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. He earned an associate’s degree from Santa Fe and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from UF. Gainey also graduated from the 188th session of the FBI National Academy.
Lisa Prevatt is principal of Bradford County Public School’s Lawtey Elementary School and former assistant superintendent of Bradford County Public Schools. She won the UF Distinguished Educator Award in 1998.
She earned an associate’s degree from Santa Fe and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of North Florida along with a master’s from Nova Southeastern University. Prevatt was nominated to the board in 2012 and 2015.
Robert Woody served as director of the Alachua County Jail and member of the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Board of Trustees. He earned a bachelor’s degree from New York State University at Oneonta in sociology and a master’s in criminal justice from Rollins College in Orlando.
Woody was first appointed to the board in 1990 with subsequent nominations in 1994, 1998, 2012 and 2015. He also served as chair and vice chair of the board. He received the State Trustee of the Year award by the Florida Association of Community Colleges in 1994. He currently serves as the vice chair for the Santa Fe College District Board of Trustees.