For technical issues relating to this application form, please email: Tracy Warrington

As you prepare to complete this application, please review the following information designed to provide you with a greater understanding of Leadership Florida and the selection process. A statewide Selection Committee reviews each application and your application should reflect who you are.

A PDF version of this application can be downloaded here:
Leadership Florida Education IV Application
Leadership Florida recommends downloading the PDF version and working through the information separately before submitting the online application. You will need the following information and documents for final submission:

• High-quality headshot photo
• 175 words or less ‘Personal Bio’
• Professional resume (no longer than three pages) - optional
• $25 application fee
• Previous ten years of employment history
• Names and contact information for two references


All applications must be digitally submitted through this form. No paper or emailed applications will be processed.

Leadership Florida, a highly respected and trusted leadership organization, is celebrating 37 years of educating, engaging, and inspiring Florida’s leaders. Our mission is to continually convene a statewide community of committed leaders to enhance and recharge their leadership skills and to educate and inspire them to work across their strengths and diversities for a better Florida. We engage Floridians by providing meaningful forums for sharing essential information and viewpoints, and we create opportunities for shared experiences that are inviting, inspiring and of lasting value.

One of the most rewarding and lasting benefits of our programs is the chance to spend valuable time interacting with other leaders from a variety of professions, philosophies, and geographies who represent Florida's diverse ethnic and racial composition. The program sessions provide ample experiences designed to facilitate the deepening of relationships among the class members and thus extend the network of relationships that form the fabric of our statewide leadership.

Graduation from our classes does not signify the end, but the beginning of a lifetime of opportunity as a member of the Leadership Florida membership network. Leadership Florida convenes regular meetings, regional and statewide, to facilitate continuing issues-oriented education, advanced leadership training, networking and the opportunity for members to work together toward shared goals.

The over 3,000 graduates of Leadership Florida programs are men and women who serve as chief executive officers of some of Florida's top corporations, elected officials, executives of pivotal nonprofit groups, and leading academicians. They are also farmers, managers of high-tech consortiums, rural hospital administrators, and directors of Florida's most important agencies. They own small businesses and include law enforcement officers in communities throughout our state. They are committed to local and state community through their collective service on more than 5,000 boards of companies and organizations throughout Florida.

Thanks to funding by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Florida Department of Education, Florida Education Foundation and PNC Bank, Leadership Florida is now able to provide the same quality programming to those who are most engaged in making Florida the best state in the country for P-20 education.

The fourth Leadership Florida Education Program will begin in October 2018 with a select number of educational leaders who have been chosen to participate. This unique program will provide those individuals with access to the very best content on P-20 education from international, national, and statewide sources to advance educational outcomes in Florida. This thought-provoking content will provide class members with the knowledge needed to help secure our state’s place among the top tier in the country. Among the key topic areas that will be covered are teacher preparedness, college and work readiness, innovations and partnerships, and public education policy.

The Leadership Florida Selection Committee, which is comprised of Leadership Florida graduates from throughout the state, seeks to identify those individuals most likely to utilize their leadership abilities for the long-term benefit of Florida. Through our the application process, including discussions with references, the committee strives to select participants who will provide the class with broad professional, geographic, ethnic and gender representation. The basic profile criteria for selection include:

• Education professionals that are passionate about Florida's education system
• Sincere concern about the future of Florida and a personal commitment to help shape its future
• Demonstrated commitment to the community through past and present activities
• The potential for exercising substantial leadership in the future
• Willingness to commit the time and energy necessary to continue involvement in the organization

All applications must be submitted electronically through this form no later than Wednesday, August 15, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. (EST).

A processing fee of $25 must accompany the application. The fee can be paid online or by check. Checks must be received by Wednesday, August 22. The Selection Committee will not review applications that remain unpaid. Please mail checks to the following address:

Leadership Florida
Attn: Class Applications
215 S. Monroe Street
Suite 710
Tallahassee, FL 32301

Your application will not be complete until:
• You have digitally signed your application
• You have accepted the policies terms
• Clicked the final "Submit" button
• Leadership Florida has received your processing fee


The Selection Committee's decision will be announced in early September.

Please keep in mind that the Selection Committee is building a class representative of Florida's professional, geographic, age, racial, gender, and ethnic diversities.

For classroom teachers and principals employed by local school districts and public charter schools within the state of Florida, there is no cost to participate in the Leadership Florida Education Program. The Florida Department of Education has provided funding for tuition and travel expenses.

For other applicants, the tuition fee is $2,000 per participant (not including travel or lodging). This amount includes your first year of Leadership Florida annual dues. Please note the tuition has been significantly subsidized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Florida Education Foundation.

Tuition must be paid by Monday, October 1, 2018, unless Leadership Florida has approved a previously agreed-upon payment plan.

Leadership Florida strongly encourages participants to take their commitment seriously. Our cancellation policy is as follows:

• Withdrawal more than 30 days before the first day of the opening retreat: full refund less $250.
• Withdrawal less than 30 days before the first day of the opening session will result in forfeiture of 100 percent of tuition. Those funds will instead become a tax-deductible donation to Leadership Florida.

Participants are REQUIRED to attend the ENTIRE opening retreat, the closing session, and participate in at least 80 percent of the remaining sessions to graduate with their class. Leadership Florida strictly enforces this policy.

The 2018-2019 session dates are as follows:

October 17-19, 2018 (Wednesday - Friday) - Sarasota
November 29-30, 2018 (Thursday - Friday) - Orlando
February 7-8, 2019 (Thursday - Friday) - South Florida
March 28-29, 2019 (Thursday - Friday) - Tallahassee

The Leadership Florida Annual Meeting will be held:
June 20-23, 2019 (Thursday - Sunday) - Disney at Orlando

Typically, class program sessions will begin around noon on the first day listed and end around noon on the last day listed. Specific times will be provided after the class is selected.

Leadership Florida takes pride in choosing a class that is diverse in all areas. Please provide the following demographic information:

At Leadership Florida, we continually discover and convene committed individuals, enhancing and recharging their leadership skills by introducing them to an influential community through whom they find knowledge and inspiration. We engage Floridians by providing essential information and a meaningful forum for their opinions and create opportunities for shared experiences that are inviting, inspiring, and of lasting value.

Please upload your professional resume (limited to 3 pages).

Please list contact information for two persons who are in a position to comment on what you would bring to Leadership Florida's program. Provide their name and requested contact information.

Upon acceptance into the program, this information will be used for purposes of creating a member directory. Please be sure the image is of high quality.

The application fee for the Leadership Florida Education Class IV is $25. You may either mail a check to Leadership Florida or use your credit card during the application process.

I understand the purpose of the Leadership Florida program, and if I am selected, I will devote the time and resources necessary to complete the entire program. I know that all sessions of the opening retreat and the closing session are mandatory. I understand that even though emergencies do arise, any participant missing more than twenty percent (20%) of the remaining sessions, for whatever reason, will be asked to withdraw from the program and no portion of the tuition shall be refunded. I have the full support of my employer for the time required to participate. I agree to be bound by the above commitments in signing this application.

By submitting this application, I understand that Leadership Florida is much more than a nine-month curriculum and that if selected, I will strive to become an active member of the organization by sharing my time, talents, and resources to support its work.

Please review all of your information.

Check for typos. If you are accepted into the Leadership Florida Education IV program, the information that you include in this application will be used in the class directory and other future publications.

Clicking Submit below will finalize your application process. If you have elected to pay by credit card, you will be taken to a payment processing page after clicking Submit.