R I S I N G STARS Bianca Garza, 30 Director of communications at United for Care For Bianca Garza, advocating for medical marijuana is personal. Her grandmother died of pancreatic cancer when Garza was just two years old. As a teenager, family members told her about how they would make her grandmother brownies laced with marijuana and rub an oil they made on her back to help alleviate her pain. “It rocked my world,” said Garza, the director of communications at United for Care, the organization behind the successful 2016 medical marijuana campaign. A University of South Florida graduate, Garza had always planned on getting involved in advocacy. She brought advocacy groups to the AURA Music and Arts Festival, which she co-founded, in an effort to make sure attendees were informed about issues important to them. And it was through the festival Garza became aware of the push to legalize medical marijuana in Florida. She started as a volunteer, before becoming a regional organizer for United for Care during the 2014 campaign. When the group began gearing up for a fight in 2016, she signed on as the director of communications, moving her family from Tampa to Miami to be closer to the cause. “Bianca started off on the campaign as a volunteer coordinator in 2013 as someone passionate about medical marijuana, but with no experience in campaigns or public relations. She quickly adapted to her job and then, over the years, grew into the much larger role of communications director,” said Ben Pollara, United for Care’s campaign manager. “Bianca was successful in both jobs for the same reason: she’s a committed, honest messenger who people cannot help but like.” Now that the campaign is over, Garza intends to continue to fight for the rights of patients, especially as lawmakers begin the arduous task of implementing Amendment 2. “I want to make sure patients have reasonable access,” she said. “I have a vested interest in the patients I’ve met along the way. 110 | INFLUENCE WINTER 2016 Joshua Gabel, 24 Outreach coordinator at Florida TaxWatch You don’t need to convince Josh Gabel that social media is important. He realized that early on, watching how then-candidate Barack Obama used social media to build a coalition of young voters. He saw it again this year as Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump used it to turn out their supporters. So it’s no surprise that Gabel is making it his priority to get more young Floridians engaged with the government watchdog on social media. “There’s a lot more younger people taking notice to what we’re doing. I think that’s a testament to what we’ve done on social media and in the capital,” he said. “It’s definitely crucial. You cannot survive without it in today’s world.” Gabel knows a few things about surviving in political arena. He got his first shot when Meredith O’Rourke hired him as a campaign finance intern for Mitt Romney’s campaign. He then joined Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign, first as an intern, then working in fundraising and finance. He went on to work for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry’s campaign, before deciding it was time to try his hand at the policy side of the business. So he picked up the phone and called Florida Tax- Watch to ask if they were hiring. They were, and Gabel quickly made the leap from the campaign trail to the halls of the Florida Capitol. “Josh is a bright young star and has brought incredible energy to Florida TaxWatch,” said Dominic M. Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. “His insights and perspective on everything from social media to research on issues have been a benefit not only to our group, but to all Florida taxpayers. He has a very bright future serving the public.” PHOTOS: Mary Beth Tyson (Gabel, Hunt, Henderson); courtesy B. Garza
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