Founder & President
Jeff Brandes
Leadership
Experienced leadership for Florida’s next policy decisions.
Florida Policy Project is led by public-service and civic-impact leaders who translate research into practical conversations for decision makers across the state.
Executive Director
Amy Maguire
Legislative, advocacy, and strategy work grounded in Florida’s most consequential public questions.
Research translated for policymakers, civic leaders, partners, and communities.
Work connected to housing affordability, insurance, criminal justice reform, and transportation.
Founder & President
Jeff Brandes
Senator Jeff Brandes is a highly respected and accomplished leader who served in the Florida Legislature from 2010 to 2022. He represented District 24, which covered a majority of Pinellas County, and was known for his innovative and independent policy-making. Throughout his tenure, he consistently advocated for solutions to address Florida's most challenging issues.
Brandes is a strong advocate for free market principles and has worked to reduce regulations and taxes to promote business development in Florida. He is a vocal supporter of cutting-edge technologies and has played a vital role in the state's advancing self-driving vehicles, rideshare, and other emerging technologies. For over a decade, he has hosted the Florida Automated Vehicle Summit, which assembles industry leaders from around the country to address transportation technologies, operations, and policy issues.
He is a veteran, having served as an Army officer in the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. This experience gave him a unique perspective on leadership and public service. He has also been an advocate for prison reform and worked to increase public safety through improvements in the criminal justice system. The former Senator continues to be an expert leader in property insurance reform.
Brandes is a business owner and serves on the boards of several community organizations. Senator Brandes lives in St. Petersburg and is dedicated to making Florida a better place to live, work, and raise a family. Since leaving office, he has founded the Florida Policy Project, a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that researches best practices and better outcomes in housing affordability, property insurance, criminal justice, and transportation. The Florida Policy Project is working to impact state policy-making on these pillars.
Executive Director
Amy Maguire
Amy Maguire brings more than 20 years of statewide experience in external affairs, advocacy, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, strategy, and communications.
Amy’s experience spans for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, including service as Government Relations Executive at Orlando Health, Vice President at Coca-Cola Florida, and Vice President at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Government & Community Relations & Commercialization.
At Florida Policy Project, Amy helps advance FPP’s work as a nonpartisan think tank and policy bank committed to evidence-based reports, best practices, and better outcomes across housing affordability, insurance, criminal justice reform, and transportation.
Amy holds degrees in economics and psychology, an MBA, Duke University Executive Leadership Certification for Corporate Social Responsibility, a University of South Florida Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certification, an Executive Certificate in Fundraising, and a Harvard Healthcare Executive Certification.
As founder and CEO of Delta 12 Consulting, Amy serves select clients through advocacy on funding and policy, strategic planning, corporate sustainability, corporate philanthropy, regulatory planning, and her “engaged for good” model for impact implementation.
Amy’s volunteer and social-enterprise work focuses on women, FPP’s policy pillars, workforce issues, food security, and economic empowerment. She speaks to women’s groups nationally, published her first book, BE 12, The Energy to Live Your Values, in 2019, and enjoys hiking, reading, golf, yoga, and swimming.
Governance & Mission
Leadership aligned with evidence, independence, and practical outcomes.
FPP’s leadership and board work together to support independent research, public education, and statewide conversations that help Florida make stronger long-term decisions.