Three Alumni Elected into Top Leadership in Florida Black Caucus Positions

The Florida Conference of Black State Legislators recently elected three Florida A&M University (FAMU) alumni to top leadership positions within the organization.

Rep. Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville, is the newly elected chairwoman of the Black Caucus. Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, is the new vice-chairwoman of the Caucus and Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, was elected treasurer.

As Jones, who earned both her bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1991 and master’s degree in business administration in 1992 from FAMU, takes the helm, she is expected to focus on a number of Caucus priorities, including wide discrepancies in the areas of health care and high school graduation rates facing the African-American community. The Caucus also remains committed to addressing disproportionate incarceration and high pregnancy rates affecting black youth.

“I will be a strong advocate for our Caucus and for the residents throughout Florida that we represent,” Jones said.

Democratic Leader Pro Temp Joyner, an attorney who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, will join a leadership team that has identified a number of issues affecting the African-American community. Joyner earned her bachelor’s degree in 1964 from FAMU and her juris doctor from the FAMU College of Law in 1968.

Williams, who graduated from FAMU with a bachelor’s degree in 1998 and a master’s in business administration in 2003 from the FAMU School of Business and Industry, was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in November 2008.

Williams was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in District 8, encompassing parts of Leon and Gadsden Counties. Williams serves on the Energy and Utilities Policy Committee, Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, the Joint Committee of Public Council Oversight, State Affairs Committee and the Senate Redistricting Subcommittee.

The Florida Legislative Black Caucus consists of 24 African-American state senators and representatives. As a not-for-profit organization, one of its goals is to champion legislation as well as community issues that affect the less fortunate constituents its serves.