John Severini, Executive Director

Since 2016 John has helped to lead the RCV effort to see ranked choice voting used in Florida.  A retired Information Technology business owner with 30+ years of experience, John is determined to fix our broken political system and believes that "ranked choice voting is a simple change that would increase voter choice, dissuade divisive campaigns, focus candidates on issues, encourage more candidates to run, electing leaders that represent the majority of voters. Most importantly it will lead to less polarization & better governing" 

Daria Laylock, Statewide Coordinator of Outreach

David Angel, General Counsel

Prior to joining our team in late 2020, David spent several years working as a financial regulatory attorney in New York before returning home to Miami. He is passionate about making elections work better and is excited to join the movement to adopt ranked-choice voting statewide in Florida. He holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan and is licensed to practice law in both New York and Florida. He also holds a CPA license in Massachusetts.

Vilia Johnson, Speakers & Endorsement Team Leader

Vilia Johnson grew up in Tampa and graduated from the University of South Florida. After a career in sales management in major cities across the country she has returned to enjoy retirement on the Gulf Coast. She joined Rank My Vote Florida to support a non-partisan reform that empowers voters with more choice and to make every vote count. 

Jose G Torres, Tech & Data Team Leader

Jose G Torres grew up in Puerto Rico and Miami, and graduated from Florida International University with a degree in Political Science.  A passion of his, guided by his family.  After many years working in retail for various retailers across the country, he moved into a software sales position which transitioned him to his most current position as a Business Systems Analyst in Jacksonville, FL.  During those 50 years in business, which took him through 9 separate presidential administrations, he has realized that there must be a better way to elect our politicians.  In Jacksonville, he became involved with various political organizations, including RCV-JAX, a local group advocating for the use of Ranked Choice Voting in local municipal elections.  This led him to join up with the Rank My Vote Florida organization as a Team Lead in the Technology & Data Management group.

John Schussler, Letter to Editor Team Leader

John Schussler has lived in Sarasota since 2005, retiring from airport management in 2018. He realizes our continued well being depends upon good government; good government depends upon good elected officials; and ranked choice voting will improve the quality of candidates and the likelihood that the best candidates are elected.

Adrian Moore, Ph.D., VP of Policy at Reason Foundation

Adrian Moore, Ph.D., is vice president of policy at Reason Foundation. Moore leads Reason's policy implementation efforts and conducts his own research on topics such as privatization, government and regulatory reform, air quality, transportation and urban growth, prisons and utilities. Moore, who has testified before Congress on several occasions, regularly advises federal, state and local officials on ways to streamline government and reduce costs.

Charles Albers, Supporter of Government Reform and Individual Liberty

For many years, Chuck has worked to advance better government policies in this country, serving as a board member of several organizations, and also as a financial supporter. At this time, he is particularly concerned about increased political polarization, and he supports several electoral and governance reforms to improve the situation. “ Ranked Choice Voting and Open Primaries would give a huge boost to the future of this country”, he says.

Now retired, Chuck lives in Sarasota. For many years he worked in NYC as an investment manager, and he served as Portfolio Manager at a couple of successful mutual funds. After College, he studied both economics and business at Columbia University in NYC. He has an M.B.A. from Columbia, and he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Frank Craft, Former Chair Libertarian Party of Pinellas County

Frank has been in the business of the creative throughout all of his adult years. While attending college at UCF, Frank produced an award-winning independent film that was screened at MoMA in addition to numerous international film festivals. After graduating, he began working to incorporate Red Star Studios, a well-known professional ceramics studio in Kansas City, MO, with the Belger Arts Center and unite the missions of the organizations. In addition to his ongoing remote management of the Belger Arts organization, Craft is also the owner/operator of Green Bench Flowers, one of St. Petersburg’s longest-run flower shops. Politically, Frank ran for the US House of Representatives in 2022 as a Libertarian and is the former Chairperson of the Libertarian Party of Pinellas County. Frank believes that RCV is the best solution for calming the current political environment and allowing voters to recapture the power of their vote.

Jen Ahearn-Koch, Sarasota City Commissioner At-Large

Former Mayor of the City of Sarasota & current City Commission Member At-Large. Jen Ahearn-Koch is an experienced marketing & communications professional with extensive experience in the US & Europe. She is a longtime supporter of ranked choice voting and having been a candidate genuinely feels that RCV increases the likelihood of positive campaigning as well as decreases the cost by eliminating the runoff round.

Jason Altmire, Former House Representative, US Congress

Dr. Jason Altmire is the former U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, serving from 2007 until 2013 as a member of the Democratic Party in a Republican district. In Congress, he was a bipartisan centrist known for working with both sides of the aisle, which led to an extraordinary record of legislative success. He served as a subcommittee chairman, had 29 of his legislative initiatives signed into law, and introduced a bipartisan bill that gained the most cosponsors of any congressional bill in American history. 

As a business leader he is a nationally recognized health care policy expert in the health insurance industry.   In 2017 he authored the critically acclaimed book, Dead Center: How Political Polarization Divided America and What We Can Do About It.  Jason has returned to Florida where he has remained active in civic and national affairs, serving on several boards, including Unite America, a movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents working to bridge the growing partisan divide and foster a more representative and functional government; the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition; and the Board of Trustees at Jacksonville University.

Cathy Antunes, WLSR Radio Host

Cathy Antunes is host of “The Detail,” a radio show about local politics in Sarasota and Bradenton on WSLR 96.5 fm.  Cathy has served on numerous local boards including Sarasota's Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA).  She has effectively organized community efforts to preserve Sarasota's quality of life, and is currently serving as an appointed member of the City of Sarasota’s Charter Review Board.

Cathy earned a BA in history with a concentration in economics at the University of Virginia. She holds a masters degree in theology. Born in New York City and raised in Westchester County, Cathy’s education and time as a military spouse provided the opportunity to reside in numerous US cities, which sparked her interest in land use planning and local politics. Her past domiciles include Manhattan, Charlottesville, VA, Kailua, HI, San Antonio, TX, Summit, NJ, Newport News, VA, Garrett Park, MD, and Pittsburgh, PA before finally settling in Sarasota, FL, where she has now resided for 22 years.  She is married and has two children and three step-children.

  Steve Hough, Veterans for Political Innovation
 

Kelly Kirschner, Dean Eckerd College

Kelly Kirschner was elected the youngest City Commissioner in Sarasota's 100+ year history in 2007. Early in his term in office, he supported the successful passage of a citizen-led Instant Runoff Voting ballot initiative that passed with overwhelming support of the City electorate. After serving two terms as Vice Mayor and one year as Mayor, SRQ Magazine and its readers selected Kirschner as the Best Leader in Sarasota County. 

Kirschner is active in Sarasota, Manatee and Pinellas counties. Since July of 2012, Kelly has served as Vice President and Dean of Executive and Continuing Education with Eckerd College, in St. Petersburg, Florida. As Dean, Kirschner provides leadership for the College's non-credit adult education, continuing education, leadership development, conflict resolution and lifelong learning programs, as well as leading the College’s government affairs work. He currently serves as the Board Chair of UnidosNow, and as a board member for the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, the St. Petersburg Economic Development Corporation, and the City of St. Petersburg’s South Community Redevelopment Area Community Advisory Committee.