Urban Politics and Policy Series
The Honorable Glenda E. Hood
Florida Secretary of State
The Riley Institute at Furman University, Greenville Forward and the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, as part of the Vision 2025 Lecture Series, welcomed the Honorable Glenda Hood to deliver a public address on “Creative Economies: Cool Cities.” The event took place in the Gunter Theater at the Peace Center on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 at 7:30 pm.
About Mayor Hood
Governor Jeb Bush appointed Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood as Florida’s Secretary of State in 2003. In Florida, where government restructuring expanded the role of the Secretary of State into one of the most powerful state agencies in the country, Secretary Hood has gained responsibility over elections, library and information services, historical resources, cultural affairs and the administrative operations which service these and other programs.
In addition, Governor Bush charged Glenda Hood to work with Enterprise Florida and the Agency for Workforce Innovation to develop the State of Florida’s strategic and economic development plan and to help lead Florida’s Free Trade Area of the Americas in its quest to encourage international partnerships among the 34 countries of the Western Hemisphere.
Glenda Hood has a long and distinguished record as a public servant and as a leader in economic development and local governance. Prior to her appointment as Secretary of State, she was elected the first female Mayor of the City of Orlando in 1992 and served three terms. While mayor she served as Chair of Florida’s Domestic Security Advisory Panel and worked with then Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to carry out Florida’s Statewide Security Summit.
Secretary Hood’s distinctive leadership has been recognized by colleagues at home and across the country who have elected her President of the National League of Cities, the Florida League of Cities, and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
A native of Orlando and fourth generation Floridian, Secretary Hood is a graduate of Rollins College and the Executive Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.