ORANGE PARK, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis this month announced five appointments and reappointments to the St. Johns River State College District Board of Trustees, adding two new members while retaining three current board members. All five selections are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
New Appointments
Alexandria Hill joins the board as a newly appointed trustee. Hill is a partner at Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Dibenow and also serves on the Clay County Development Authority. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from Stetson University and earned her law degree from the University of Florida.
Kevin Payne was also appointed to the board for the first time. Payne serves as Senior Manager of Contracting for Imagine 360, a health insurance company, and is President of the Jacksonville Association of Health Underwriters. He earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Texas and a master’s in business administration from Oklahoma City University.
Reappointments
Three sitting trustees received reappointments. Richard Komando, a partner at Bradley, Garrison & Komando, previously worked as Circuit Director and Statewide General Counsel for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Office and as an Assistant State Attorney in that same circuit. He earned degrees from Florida State University and holds a law degree from Loyola University.
Willard “Judd” Sapp Jr., owner of W.J. Sapp & Son Inc., a railroad contracting business in Baldwin, was also reappointed. A U.S. Navy veteran and FSU graduate, Sapp previously served on the St. Johns County Day School Board of Trustees.
Tammy “Chereese” Stewart rounds out the reappointments. Stewart serves as Assistant County Manager for the Clay County Commission and holds memberships in the Clay County Development Authority, Clay County Cattlemen Association, Clay County Farm Bureau, and Florida Planning and Zoning Association. She holds degrees from Texas A&M University and the University of North Florida.
About St. Johns River State College
St. Johns River State College operates three campuses — in Orange Park, Palatka, and St. Augustine — serving approximately 8,000 students across three counties in northeastern Florida. The college’s board of trustees oversees institutional governance, including policy, finances, and strategic direction.
The appointments reflect the governor’s ongoing role in shaping leadership at Florida’s state college system institutions. Florida’s broader approach to education governance, including how flexibility and oversight are balanced at publicly funded institutions, has drawn continued attention at the state level. For more on Florida’s education policy landscape, see our coverage of school choice accountability debates and the latest from Florida’s legislative calendar.