Susan Clary is a native Floridian of Cuban descent. She is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park where she wrote for The Sandspur, Florida oldest college newspaper. Her journalism career included stints at the St. Petersburg Times and the Orlando Sentinel where she covered the environment, crime and law enforcement, state and federal courts. She provided legal analysis for 24-hour cable news network CFN13. She loves reading court decisions and picking the brains of the great lawyers she has worked with over the years. As a young cop reporter, Clary was always the last to leave a crime scene – hoping to get that one key detail or interview. The knack for being at the right place put her in a position to help the Tampa Police Department apprehend a murder suspect hours after he was suspected of shooting his girlfriend on a city street corner. Her reporting has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and the Florida Press Association. She also was named Tampa Hispanic Heritage Woman of the Year and won a Hispanic Trailblazers Award from Orlando’s Latino Leadership. Clary left newspapers and served in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for the Public Defender and the Judiciary as an Investigator, Legal Training Coordinator and Public Affairs Specialist. She has worked at three law firms in Business Development and Communications. She has been elected by the voters of Orange County three times and serves on the Orange Soil & Water Conservation District. In her first run for office, she was endorsed by former Vermont Governor Howard Dean as one of his “Dean Dozen.” She has worked for progressive nonprofits and on a number of political campaigns including candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, State House and local races. Clary is the founder of Compassionate Canines, a small-dog rescue, and serves as Regional Director for the Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation. She serves on the Central Florida board of the American Civil Liberties Union. Currently, she works as a freelance writer and public relations consultant. She and her husband live in Winter Park with their menagerie.