Baughman McLeod

Education

• Florida State University- B.S. in International Affairs, 1991
• Florida State University- M.S. in Geography, 2005

Bar Admissions

• Not a Member of The Florida Bar

Biography

Kathy Baughman McLeod is the head of the Public Policy Group at Bryant Miller Olive, a Florida law firm. As Director of Public Strategy, Ms. Baughman McLeod develops and manages the consultancy that helps clients build effective business strategies; establish political, corporate, and governmental partnerships at the local, state, federal and international level; identify and address political and regulatory risks; and prepare for and take advantage of the new low-carbon economy.

Ms. Baughman McLeod recently chaired the “Green Jobs for Florida Delegation to Copenhagen.” A group of 25 Florida-based CEOs and elected leaders, including the CEO of Lykes Bros., Inc., the head of renewable institutional investing at Raymond James, and the Mayor of the City of Gainesville, attended the UN Climate Change Conference focused on Florida job creation in the renewable energy and energy efficiencies industries. The delegation built strategies for Florida economic development and low carbon business advancement.

Prior to joining Bryant Miller Olive, Ms. Baughman McLeod served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Her responsibilities included public policy development, legislative and cabinet affairs, communications and boards and commissions.  (CFO Sink is a statewide elected member of the Florida Cabinet responsible for $15 billion in the Florida Treasury, one of three trustees overseeing $130 billion in state investments and retirement funds, and the leader of the 2,400-employee Florida Department of Financial Services.)

In addition, Ms. Baughman McLeod handled policy development and execution related to the Florida Treasury, State Board of Administration, and the financial aspects of climate change, Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, the My Safe Florida Home mitigation program, the Healthy Kids Corporation and the acquisition and stewardship of conservation lands.

She led several initiatives for CFO Sink. Most recently, Ms. Baughman McLeod led the initiative that resulted in Florida’s being the first Treasury in the nation to formally analyze climate risks in the Treasury portfolio. In addition, she directed Florida’s participation at the UN Foundation Investors’ Summit on Climate Risk in spring 2008. In December 2007, Ms. Baughman McLeod attended the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia as a delegate to an observing organization. She orchestrated a climate change, insurance and financial services tour of United Kingdom in November 2007 and three workshops titled “Conversations on Climate Change” with the Governor and Florida Cabinet, a CEO Roundtable on Clean Energy and Florida Business.

Long involved in the public sector, Ms. Baughman McLeod is the former principal of Healthy Development, Inc., a national environmental health consulting firm and of Baughman McLeod Associates, a Florida-based government and public affairs consultancy serving the interests of non-profit clients.  As the Program Director of the Florida Communities Trust at the Florida Department of Community Affairs, she administered a $66 million annual grant program for local governments for the acquisition and creation of community parks, open space and trails related to the Florida Growth Management Act.

She has held positions with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, The Nature Conservancy, and The Trust for Public Land. As the Director of Government Affairs for the Trust for Public Land, she led the legislative advocacy and public finance initiatives for the organization's nine-state, southeast region.

She holds a BS in International Affairs and an MS in Geography, both from Florida State University. She is an appointee of the Governor to the Florida Energy and Climate Commission, a former appointee to the Governor’s Energy & Climate Action Team, a board member of the Collins Center for Public Policy, a board member of Leadership Florida and a member of Class XXV, and a national board member of the Clean Energy States Alliance.

News

• Kathy Baughman McLeod Presented at the Florida Business Network for a Clean Energy Economy
• Kathy Baughman McLeod Elected Secretary of the Board of the Collins Center for Public Policy
• Mary Ellen Hogan was Featured Speaker at World Bioenergy 2010 Conference in Stockholm, Sweden
• Kathy Baughman McLeod Joins Collins Center Board of Trustees
• Updates on The Green Jobs for Florida Delegation to Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference
• Bryant Miller Olive Chairs Delegation to Copenhagen
• Kathy Baughman McLeod was elected to the Board of Governor's of Leadership Florida
• Kathy Baughman McLeod Elected Vice-Chairperson for Sustainable Florida
• Kathy Baughman McLeod Elected to the National Board of the Clean Energy States Alliance
• Kathy Baughman McLeod featured in Florida Trend
• Sink Advisor Kathy Baughman McLeod to Lead Public Policy Group at Bryant Miller Olive

Professional & Civic Activities

• Florida Energy and Climate Commission, Appointed Member
• Leadership Florida, Board Member
• Sustainable Florida at the Collins Center for Public Policy, Director
• Clean Energy States Alliance, Board Member