On Friday afternoon, incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended former Florida state Sen. Dana Young to the Visit Florida Board of Directors to be selected as the next CEO of Visit Florida.
Young had been one of the leading Republicans in the Legislature in recent years but she lost a close contest in November to Democrat Janet Cruz.
On Friday, DeSantis praised Young as he called on Visit Florida’s Board to approve her.
“Dana Young is an exceptional leader who has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for all Floridians through her work in the state senate,” said DeSantis. “Her leadership ability and experience make her an excellent candidate to lead Visit Florida in their mission to maximize the economic impact of travel and tourism to our state. I look forward to working with Dana to strengthen our tourism industry and build on the economic success of our great state.”
First elected to the Florida House in 2010, Young, an attorney, moved up the GOP ranks. She served as majority whip and deputy majority leader under Speaker Will Weatherford in her second term before being picked by Speaker Steve Crisafulli to be majority leader in her last term in the House. In 2016, she moved up to the Florida Senate but only served two years before being defeated by Cruz. Gov. Rick Scott named Young to the Florida Defense Support Task Force in 2013.
