BY STAFF REPORTS
On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a new Secretary at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, ending a more than three-year run for Shawn Hamilton atop the environmental regulatory agency.
Alexis A. Lambert, currently the Chief of Staff at the Division of Bond Finance, will take over DEP. Lambert has held the Chief of Staff position since 2018. While at the division, Lambert has supported the Governor’s debt reduction strategy, which has resulted in the state reducing over a quarter of its outstanding debt accumulated since statehood, according to a Governor’s Office news release.
“Serving as Secretary for the past three and a half years has truly been one of the greatest honors of my career,” Hamilton wrote to staff on Thursday. “After 17 years with the state, I will be transitioning to the private sector. I’m working closely with the Governor’s Office to ensure a smooth handoff to my successor, and I know you’ll all provide them with the same commitment and support that you’ve shown me. I am excited to watch the environmental movement we’ve developed here in Florida continue to grow.”
Hamilton had been with the Department since 2007, rising through the agency’s northwest office to the headquarters in 2020 before being named Secretary in 2021. He served as ombudsman and public affairs manager in DEP’s Northwest District Office at the beginning of his career and was promoted to assistant district director in 2010. He was appointed director in 2011. In that office, he was responsible for regulatory matters within the district’s 16-county jurisdiction.
In 2020, Hamilton was promoted to interim deputy secretary of Land and Recreation, moving into leadership at DEP’s headquarters in Tallahassee. He was formally appointed as deputy secretary in 2021. In that role, he oversaw operations of the state’s award-winning Florida State Parks system as well as the state’s Florida Forever land buying program and other programs.
DeSantis named him Secretary in August 2021, after he held the role as interim beginning that summer. He has since been subsequently confirmed by the Florida Senate as Secretary.
As Secretary, Hamilton has overseen billions in funding to work on Everglades restoration, springs protection, land buying, parks operations, water quality and quantity projects, environmental research programs, and other priorities as the head of the state’s environmental protection agency.
Prior to joining the Division of Bond Finance, Lambert served as Chief of Staff of the Florida Department of Health, where she oversaw the management of all Department activities and its 15,000 employees and served as the liaison to DEP.
Previously, she served as Director of Communications for State Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and in leadership roles within the Departments of Children and Families, Business and Professional Regulation, and Community Affairs. A Tallahassee native and alum of Mercer University, Lambert also serves as a board member of Space Florida and the State Emergency Response Commission.
