Bush, Jeb
Chairman, Foundation for Excellence in Education
Jeb Bush was the 43rd governor of the state of Florida, serving from 1999 through 2006. He was the third Republican elected to the state’s highest office and the only Republican in the state’s history to be reelected.
During his two terms, Bush championed major reform of government programs in education and Medicaid. The state also launched and accelerated restoration of America’s Everglades, the largest project of its kind in the world, to save the habitat of 60 threatened and endangered species and provide a long-term supply of drinking water for 8 million people in South Florida.
Bush served as Florida’s secretary of commerce under Bob Martinez, Florida’s 40th governor. He also co-authored “Profiles in Character,” a book profiling 14 of Florida’s civic heroes — people making a difference without claiming a single news headline.
Bush earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of Texas at Austin. He moved to Florida in 1981, where he started a real estate development company with partner Armando Codina.
Currently, Bush is the president of the consulting firm Jeb Bush and Associates and is on the boards of CNL Bancshares and Tenet Healthcare Corporation. In civic and charitable affairs, Bush serves on the boards of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, the Foundation of Florida’s Future, CASEnergy, Volunteer USA and Our Pledge. He and his wife, Columba, live in Miami and have three grown children. Bush is the son of President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush.
