Harvey E. Oyer III

Partner, Shutts & Bowen; Chairman, Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach

Since 1910, Shutts & Bowen has been one of Florida’s leading commercial law firms. The Florida-only firm has 300 lawyers and almost 500 employees located in eight Florida offices. Oyer is a former Marine Corps captain and part-time adventurer. He cross-country skied to the North Pole in April 2018 and canoed across the Florida Everglades from the Gulf of Mexico to Biscayne Bay in 2022 — a feat that hadn’t been accomplished in 125 years. Oyer is also the author of The Adventures of Charlie Pierce, an award-winning children’s book series to inculcate in Florida’s future leaders a love of Florida’s unique history and ecology. In 2013, Oyer was recognized as a Florida “Distinguished Author.”

EDUCATION: University of Florida (BA, JD), Cambridge University (M.Phil.)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: I would prioritize protecting Florida’s unique and fragile environment. It is in danger. We must find the proper balance between economic prosperity and protecting the natural beauty that attracted all of us to this beautiful state. Gov. DeSantis is off to a great start. He has invested billions into the Florida Everglades, cleaning our waters, and protecting our landscapes. We must continue his work!

INSPIRING FLORIDIAN: Former Florida Gov. LeRoy Collins, who led our state through one of its most difficult times with grace and class, ending segregation when other Southern governors would not.

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Always pay it forward.