Mayor Jerry Demings, Orange County

Mayor Jerry L. Demings was sworn in on Dec. 4, 2018 as the 5th elected Mayor of Orange County and is the first African-American to serve in the role. He oversees more than 8,000 Orange County employees and a $4.9 billion budget as the County’s chief executive officer. He says that his goal is to make Orange County the “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” by creating a community culture of innovation, collaboration and inclusiveness.

Always a trailblazer, Mayor Demings became Orlando’s first African-American police chief in 1998 and was elected the first African-American Orange County Sheriff in 2008. He was re-elected in 2012 and again in 2016.

An Orlando native, Mayor Demings is married to former Orlando Police Chief Valdez B. Demings, who also made history as the first female police chief in Orlando. In November 2016, she was elected to the 115th Session of the United States Congress and was re-elected in 2018. Congresswoman Demings represents Florida Congressional District 10. They have three sons who are all graduates of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

A lifelong public servant, Mayor Demings is a graduate of Jones High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University and a master’s of business administration from Orlando College. He graduated magna cum laude.

He is a graduate of the 194th session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy and studied at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Mayor Demings currently serves on several regional boards of directors, including the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Central Florida Expressway Authority, Metroplan Orlando, Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority/Lynx, Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center, Orange County Tourist Development Council, Orlando Economic Partnership and he is involved in numerous civic organizations. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and is a steward at Saint Mark AME Church in Orlando. Mayor Demings has a passion for working with organizations that support children and volunteers with several non-profit agencies.

Mayor Buddy Dyer, City of Orlando

As Mayor, Buddy Dyer is focused on shaping Orlando into a community where collaboration and unity are the keys to helping every resident thrive. Since his first day in office, Mayor Dyer has increased partnerships between Central Florida’s government organizations, businesses, non-profit groups and residents to ensure Orlando is a vibrant, inclusive community with an unmatched quality of life for those who call The City Beautiful home.

Mayor Dyer has been focused on making sure that every person in Orlando has equitable access to opportunities by expanding youth programs, strengthening community-police relations and diversifying the region’s economy through the creation of new high-wage jobs. He’s helped the city become one of the nation’s best places to launch a small business and a leader in sustainability. Other achievements include SunRail, the region’s first commuter rail line, two new community venues – the Amway Center and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts– and the renovation of Camping World Stadium.

Mayor Dyer is the leading voice for Orlando, and all of Central Florida, to address challenges that are impacting communities nationwide, including homelessness and affordable housing. The City of Orlando is helping advance the shared priority that every resident has a safe place to sleep and their basic needs of clothing, food and hygiene are met.

Mayor Dyer is also ensuring that the need for safe, affordable housing for residents is addressed by making investments and creating partnerships to bring new and rehabilitated apartments and homes to the city.

Mayor Phil Anderson, City of Winter Park

A Winter Park resident since 1998, Mayor Anderson and his wife Jennifer are patrons and supporters of several local organizations including the Boys & Girls Club of Eatonville, Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Holocaust Center, and Winter Park History Museum. They enjoy spending time with their blended family of four grown children. They also enjoy water sports, camping and sidewalk dining in Winter Park.

Mayor Anderson currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Legacy Pointe at UCF, a non-profit retirement community. He previously served as a finance board member of Westminster Retirement Communities (which includes Westminster Winter Park.) In addition, Mayor Anderson was a founding member and treasurer of the Winter Park Land Trust.

Mayor Anderson earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Atlanta. His first job was with Georgia Power Company as a co-op student, providing valuable experience that has helped with understanding the complexities of the city’s electric utility.

As a corporate executive, Mayor Anderson led the successful creation of several businesses and teams over the past 35 years. Those businesses have made $10+ billion of investments in 300+ communities across the country. He also owns a small business with his brother and understands the special challenges faced by local small businesses. Most recently, Mayor Anderson co-founded Bridge Seniors Housing Fund Manager in Orlando, where he served as Chief Investment Officer until his retirement in 2020. Prior to joining Bridge, Mayor Anderson served as Chief Operating Officer of CNL Retirement Properties. Before moving to Winter Park from Chicago, he helped launch and then served as Senior VP with the Hyatt® Hotel Corporation’s senior housing affiliate.

As Mayor, Phil looks forward to serving our residents and business community.

Mayor Angie Gardner

Angie Gardner is a second-generation Central Floridian, educator, wife, and mother of two. As the youngest of six, she was raised not in Eatonville, but just a few miles down the road on the west side of Winter Park, an area once known as “Winterville.”

Mayor Gardner has a rich background, ideally suited for a mayoral office. Gardner attended Rollins College in Winter Park, earning a BA in Economics, a Minor in Business, and an M. Ed. In Education and now works as a full-time second-grade teacher. This unique blend of skills is serving her well as she assumes the role.

Linda Chapin

Business, Public Service, Academia: all of these are fields in which Linda Chapin contributed. Beginning her civic involvement as a volunteer, Ms. Chapin then worked in banking for a period of time before

serving as an Orange County Commissioner. Following that four-year term, she was then elected as the first Orange County Mayor.

Her tenure included the construction of the Courthouse, the second-largest Convention Center in the country, the West Orange Trail, the History Center, and numerous parks and environmental land purchases.

After two terms in that position, Mayor Chapin served briefly as Orange County Clerk before accepting a role at the University of Central Florida, where she was the founder of the Metropolitan Center for

Regional Studies under then-President John Hitt. After ten years at UCF, she retired to resume her volunteer work in the Central Florida community. Her civic roles have included two terms as Chair of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority; two terms as Chair of Orlando Health; chair of the Judicial Nominating Commission for the 9th Circuit; president of the League of Women Voters of Orange County, the Junior League of Greater Orlando, the Children’s Commission, and the Healthy Community Initiative. She received the Alumni of the Year award from the Kennedy School of Government. 

She currently serves on the board of the Holocaust Center and the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.

Linda Chapin is the widow of attorney Bruce Chapin. They are the parents of four children.