ALEX JOHNS

OWNER, FIRST AMERICAN RANCH, OKEECHOBEE

Johns can trace his family’s history of livestock management back to the 1500s when Spanish explorers first introduced cattle to Florida and its Indigenous communities. A member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Johns grew up working on the tribe’s ranching operations, where 67 families raise cattle on about 100,000 acres of land. When he was 21 years old, he inherited his family’s ranch, the First American Ranch. And in 2018, he was named president of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association — the first Native American to lead the organization — after years of service as secretary, treasurer, second vice president, first vice president and president elect. He has also guided the Seminole Tribe’s cattle program as the tribe’s natural resource director.