Barbara Petersen wants the public to know everything it can about the government, and she spends much of her time in the Florida Press Center at the First Amendment Foundation headquarters researching public records and helping others learn.
Under her management the Foundation has evolved into an important asset that ensures residents are well-informed and government is held accountable.
Petersen took a few minutes to talk to Sunshine State News about her job and herlife in the capital.
Whats your title? President of the First Amendment Foundation
How old are you? 57
Where are you from and where do you live now? I was born in Washington, D.C., and I live in Tallahassee. I also live part of the year in northern New Mexico -- half way between Santa Fe and Taos. Up in the mountains.
Where did you go to college? I went all over the place. I took 10 years to get my bachelor's degree. I started out at Madison College, which is now James Madison University, and I graduated 10 years later from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1979.
What were your degrees in? Pottery and weaving, anthropology and Spanish. Later I got a law school degree at Florida State University in 1991.
What did you do for a living before your current job? Immediately before I started here, I worked as a staff attorney for the Florida Legislature -- a joint committee for information technology research, 1991 to 1994.
What is the biggest success youve had in this job? I think the biggest success was increasing the profile of the First Amendment Foundation. When I started in 1995, there had been no staff. And we had no programs. We published the Government in the Sunshine manual, but that was just about all we did. And so, Pete Weitzel, who was then the managing editor of the Miami Herald and started the First Amendment Foundation, hired me to put the Foundation on a more active footing. When I started in 1995, nobody had ever heard of the First Amendment Foundation. And now, I think were fairly well-known across the state, not only as experts on open-government law, but as advocates of the publics right to access the records and meetings of its government.
What is the biggest disaster youve encountered in your role here? I dont know if weve had any disasters. I think weve lost a few battles. Probably the Dale Earnhardt Sr. autopsy photos. [The Orlando Sentinel and other news media tried to acquire sealed copies of Earnhardts autopsy photos for publication after his death.] We worked very hard with the legislators trying to fashion a compromise that would have allowed the public some measure of oversight while still protecting the sensitive nature of the photographs and the interests of the families of the deceased. And they werent willing to compromise.
What was the best advice youve ever received about how to do your job, and who gave it? David Braylow, a media attorney. He told me that I could be amazed by public records requests, but I should never be surprised.
Who is the person you most admire, dead or alive? My very first real boss was a man named Arthur Domike. He gave me a job when he probably shouldnt have. I became an administrative assistant at a cooperative program between the United Nations-run Food and Agriculture Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank. Art was the director. He gave me a job. Hes one of those people who tend to see the best in people and encourages them to push beyond what they think are their own limits.
What was your most embarrassing moment in the capital? When I fell off my bike at the parking lot at St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail State Park. After warning everybody of the big hole, I rode my bike right into it.
What are your interests outside of work? I dont weave anymore. I still do some pottery. I love to fish. Ive been lucky enough to fish all over the world, but I think the trout streams in southern Colorado are the best.
Reach Alex Tiegen at Alex.Tiegen@gmail.com or (561) 329-5389.
