Florida State Parks Foundation Announces Matt Caldwell as New Board Member

The Florida State Parks Foundation is pleased to announce Matt Caldwell, Lee County Property Appraiser and former Florida State Representative, has been elected to the Board of Directors.

“We are looking forward to working with Matt and thrilled to welcome him to the board,” said Tammy Gustafson, Florida State Parks Foundation President. “Matt’s background and enthusiasm for Florida’s environment and its conservation will make him a great asset in advancing our mission of preserving our state’s beautiful treasures.”

Matt served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2010-2018 and was the 2018 Republican nominee for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In 2020, Matt was elected to serve as the Lee County Property Appraiser, the office he currently holds.

Prior to elected office, Matt began his career as a real estate appraiser ultimately joining the firm of Maxwell, Hendry, Simmons in 2004, where he remains of counsel. From 2019-2020, Matt was also a partner at TM Strategic Consulting, focused on political consulting, where he also remains of counsel.

“As a seventh-generation Florida native, I am excited to join the Foundation board and work alongside a passionate group of people supporting our award-winning Florida State Parks,” said Matt Caldwell. “During my time in the Florida House of Representatives, I was proud to sponsor, and have the Governor sign into law, dozens of bills, including many related to natural resources. I am honored to help advocate for the protection, sustainment and growth of our world-renowned Florida State Parks.”

The Florida State Parks Foundation, founded in 1993 as Friends of Florida State Parks and renamed in 2018, is a 501©3 nonprofit corporation whose mission is to support and help sustain the Florida Park Service, its 175 award-winning parks and trails, local Friends groups and more than 20,000 park volunteers.

It does this through programs that preserve and protect state parks, educate visitors about the value of state parks, encourage community engagement and active use of state parks, and advocacy. The volunteer Board of Directors represents private and public sectors as well as local and statewide interests.