Dean Saunders
FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR, SVN | SAUNDERS RALSTON DANTZLER REAL ESTATE, LAKELAND
Saunders is the founder and managing director of SVN | Saunders Ralston Dantzler Real Estate. The company is a full-service land and commercial real estate brokerage representing buyers, sellers, investors, institutions, and landowners. The firm has been based in Lakeland since 1996. It has more than 120 advisers and 20 professional staffers throughout Florida and Georgia. While serving in the Florida House of Representatives (1992-96), Saunders wrote the legislation that authorized the creation of Florida Bright Futures Scholarships using funds from the Florida Lottery. “My goal with Bright Futures was to keep our best and brightest in Florida with a merit-based program,” he says.
EDUCATION: University of Florida (BS)
IF I WERE GOVERNOR: Infrastructure goes beyond roads and utilities but requires a focus on healthcare, education, law enforcement, and more green infrastructure, which requires a significant and consistent funding source.
MENTOR: Lawton Chiles played a pivotal role early in my career. I always appreciated his ability to balance his deep understanding of Floridians while providing leadership, without losing sight of how far he could lead.
INSPIRING FLORIDIAN: Thomas LeRoy Collins was the 33rd governor of Florida (1955-61). I think of the turbulence that he faced in the South during segregation. He was able to craft solutions that steered the state in the right direction to avoid the fallout that some of the other southern states experienced.
