The 80th episode of the Fluent in Floridian podcast features Lieutenant Governor of Florida Jeanette Nuñez, the state’s first female Cuban-American to hold the title. In her conversation with SalterMitchell PR CEO + Founder April Salter, Nuñez details her upbringing in South Florida and shares a look into her personal life, from meeting her husband in the sixth grade to her parents’ immigration from Cuba.
In this intimate conversation, Nuñez takes us through her political journey. She discusses how she went from working in a state representative’s office to serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives and then as the Speaker Pro Tem.
In 2018, when Governor Ron DeSantis won the gubernatorial election, Nuñez began her latest chapter as the state’s first female Cuban-American lieutenant governor.
“The other states are different, but technically in Florida, the lieutenant governor doesn’t have any constitutional duties or any statutory rules that are outlined. So I really wanted to make sure that if I was going to do this, if I was going to sacrifice my time, from time with my family and all of those things, that it was going to be something valuable…” said Nuñez. “So, I think the governor was totally in alignment with that thought. And I think he’s shown it throughout the course of our first term.”
Nuñez has proven herself to be a visible and active lieutenant governor, overseeing the Florida Department of Health, Space Florida, Florida’s cybersecurity task force, and more. Outside of the office, she takes on the role of a mother of three and shared with us how her family reacted to her joining DeSantis’ ticket in 2018.
Nuñez’s love for the Sunshine State and its people display what it truly means to be Fluent in Floridian. Listen to the entire podcast here.
