Brown

By Ryan Nicol

Natalie Brown, a senior legislative assistant for Sen. Danny Burgess, almost left The Process.

“I tried to leave politics once. I spent more than a year in marketing and communications for a cigar company in Tampa,” she recalled. “But after watching the 2018 election cycle from the sidelines, I knew I had to get back in.”

That pull led her to join the office of then-Sen. Tom Lee, bringing her back into the fold and allowing one of the Rising Stars of Florida politics to shine.

Brown got her first small taste of the political world while volunteering as an election equipment tech at the Martin County Supervisor of Elections. “I helped thousands of voters cast their ballot in 2012, but wasn’t old enough to vote,” she said.

She went on to major in economics at Florida State University. Shortly before starting college, she attended a local Lincoln Day dinner and met thenCFO Jeff Atwater.

Atwater “told me to call his office and that he’d love to have me as an intern in the Department. Of course, it was a surprise for his team when I actually called,” Brown said.

She took that internship position once she was a student at FSU. She also would intern with then-Rep. Manny Diaz, and with Chris Moya and Emily Buckley at Jones Walker.

Later on, Brown worked in Washington in a communications role for Concerned Veterans for America and Americans for Prosperity.

AFP-Florida State Director Skylar Zander called Brown a “key piece” of the team there.

“Natalie’s intellect, calming presence, and drive are so welcoming in a process full of individuals who typically freak out and react out of haste,” Zander said. “Her loyalty and focus on not only her success, but her boss’s success, sepa rate her from the pack and are more reasons why she is going to excel in this crazy Process long term.”

Brown said she was thankful she returned from her 2018 break and land ed in Lee’s Office.

“He kept me on my toes and was the toughest boss I’ve ever had,” Brown related, “but he wanted me to succeed and I learned a lot from him.”

This is now her fifth Session in the Senate, and seventh Session overall, and she says sev eral individuals have impacted her along the way.

Danny Martinez now at AFP-Florida, was working for Diaz at the same time Brown was an intern.

“They could have just had me answer the phones,” Brown said, “but instead, they gave me every opportunity to learn about The Process from committee weeks to Sine Die. I met constituents and lobbyists, sat in on meetings, and wrote talking points and press releases. Danny has been a mentor and friend for 10 years.”

She also shouted out Kathy Galea and Patty Harrison on the Senate side. At the time Brown started there, Galea was with then-Sen. Bill Galvano and Harrison worked for then-Sen. Wilton Simpson.

“My first few months in the Senate were incredibly challenging,” Brown remembered. “Sen. Lee told me on Day 1 that he had never trained new staff, so it was up to me to make friends and learn the role as quickly as possible. Fortunately, both Kathy and Patty kept their doors open for me.”

Brown isn’t sure what her future will hold going forward, but said she’s worked hard to hone a skill set to enable success in the Legislature.

“I am a problem solver, and for me ‘work smarter, not harder’ means working together. Across the aisle or across the state, in the chamber or in the rotunda, it doesn’t matter. We are all a part of The Process and no person or policy is an island,” she explained.

“Sometimes working together means solving a problem with a quick phone call. Other times, we work on legislation for years before we see solutions. The variety keeps the job exciting. Also, there is something special about being able to read a statute you helped write and to see the impact of your work in your local community year after year.”

By Andrew Meacham