Gary R. Rutledge is a founding principal and serves as Vice President of the firm of Rutledge Ecenia, P.A.  Additionally, he coordinates the firm’s legislative and governmental affairs section.  He is one of the firm’s most active attorneys in governmental, administrative and legislative matters.  Mr. Rutledge works directly with numerous governmental officials in the State of Florida, including legislators, cabinet officers and employees at all levels of government.  In legislative and regulatory matters, he serves as lobbyist and attorney for local, state, national and international clients, both public and private.  Mr. Rutledge also has served as Special Counsel for the Florida Department of Business Regulation and the National Association of State Racing Commissioners.

Mr. Rutledge attended the University of Florida, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in 1972 and his Juris Doctor in 1976.  While at the University of Florida, he served as President of the Student Senate; was a member of the Law School Council of 10 and Florida Blue Key; and was elected to the University of Florida Hall of Fame and Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.  He also was recognized for significant legal research in the public interest by the University of Florida’s Center for Governmental Responsibility.

Mr. Rutledge is admitted to the Florida Bar, the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida and the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.  Mr. Rutledge maintains an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell.

From 1979 to 1981, Mr. Rutledge served as the Director of the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering within the Florida Department of Business Regulation and was appointed by Governor Bob Graham in 1981 to serve as Secretary of the Department of Business Regulation.  The activities he pursued under the auspices of the Department of Business Regulation were far-reaching, including regulation of pari-mutuel wagering, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, hotels and restaurants, land sales, timeshare, mobile home parks and condominium industries.  In allied activities nationally, he served as a member of the National Association of State Racing Commissioners (NASRC) and was a member of the NASRC Executive Committee.

Mr. Rutledge was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Judicial Nominating Commission, First District Court of Appeal and served from 2011 to 2019 including as Chairman.  Mr. Rutledge also served on the Host Inauguration Committee for Governor Rick Scott in 2010.

Mr. Rutledge has written and spoken about the regulatory aspects of the industries regulated by the Department of Business Regulation and other legislative and governmental matters.  He also has addressed many organizations on these areas of the law, as well as other administrative, legislative, and regulatory matters.

Mr. Rutledge served in Tallahassee on the initial Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club and on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Home Society.

Stephen A. Ecenia is a founding principal of Rutledge Ecenia, P.A. and serves as President of Rutledge Ecenia, P.A.  He has been practicing Administrative and Health Law in Tallahassee since 1982. He has more than 30 years of experience in the practice of administrative and governmental law in Florida and has served as lead counsel in numerous complex administrative hearing. He regularly advises clients on legislative affairs, drafting major health care legislation and appearing before various legislative committees.

Mr. Ecenia received a Bachelor of Arts degree with High Honors from the University of Florida in 1977 and his Juris Doctorate Degree from Florida State University in 1980, where he was a member of the Moot Court Team.  He has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1981. Mr. Ecenia has lectured for the Administrative Law Section of the Florida Bar, as well as the Boards of Directors of various organizations.  Mr. Ecenia is the author of “The Variability of Competent Substantial Evidence,” which was published in the Florida Bar Journal.  He received Board Certification as a Specialist in State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice in the first Board Certification by the Florida Bar for this legal specialty.  Mr. Ecenia has been recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer in the Healthcare practice area for 2014.

Mr. Ecenia began his professional career in the Florida House of Representatives, serving as counsel to the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and as staff counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.  He began the private practice of law in 1982 and in 1992 became one of the founding principals of the Firm then known as Rutledge, Ecenia, Underwood & Purnell. Mr. Ecenia has received Martindale-Hubble’s highest level of recognition, an AV rating and has been selected to the Martindale-Hubbell 2018 Superlawyer list by his peers.

Mr. Ecenia has principally focused his career on the representation of health care clients and has represented virtually every type of health care entity throughout the course of his career, including hospitals and health care systems, managed care organizations, clinical laboratories, home health agencies, hospice providers, and physicians in matters involving certificates of need, licensure, legislative affairs, regulatory compliance, transactions and litigation.

Mr. Ecenia has represented a wide array of clients in Circuit Court, the District Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Florida in matters involving the constitutionality of Florida Statutes, commercial disputes, and other matters of administrative law.  He has served as General Counsel to a statewide Association of over 4,000 members, and, currently serves as General Counsel to the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association.

Mr. Ecenia has served as President of the Capital Cultural Commission and on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Brogan Museum of Art and Science. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Grapes for Humanity Global Foundation, an international not-for-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide prosthesis to victims of landmines and natural disasters around the world.

Mr. J. Stephen Menton joined the law firm of Rutledge Ecenia, P.A.  in April 1997 after serving as an Administrative Law Judge with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) from 1988 through 1997.  While at DOAH, he presided over cases involving all aspects of Florida administrative law including rule challenges, bid disputes and environmental permitting.  His case assignments included administrative challenges to the Everglades SWIM Plan and challenges to the consumptive use permitting rules of the Southwest Florida Water Management District which resulted in the longest hearing in the history of DOAH.  That proceeding included issues related to the authority of water management districts to establish water use restrictions and the requirements for establishment of minimum flows and levels for groundwater and surface water.  He was also assigned cases involving the siting of natural gas pipelines.

Prior to his service at DOAH, Mr. Menton had extensive litigation, business and administrative law experience.  He began his legal career in 1981 with a large firm in Miami where his practice focused primarily on commercial transactions, banking and real estate law.  In 1984, he joined the Tallahassee office of a major statewide law firm where his practice focused on administrative law, construction litigation and federal securities law litigation.

Since joining the Firm in April 1997, Mr. Menton has handled a variety of administrative law issues, including environmental and water use permitting.  His practice has included trials and hearings in state and federal courts as well as numerous administrative hearings before DOAH, the Florida Public Service Commission, environmental permitting agencies, water management districts and several local government utility regulatory boards.

Mr. Menton received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Florida State University where he was selected for membership in Phi Beta Kappa.  He received his law degree from Duke University and also received a Master’s Degree from the Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke.  He has completed the training required for circuit civil mediators.  He has been appointed as an arbitrator to arbitration panels on insurance rate matters and has mediated civil and administrative law cases.  Mr. Menton maintains an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell.

Mrs. Maggie M. Schultz is a shareholder at Rutledge Ecenia, PA.  Mrs. Schultz specializes in administrative law and civil litigation with a strong emphasis on regulated industries, including specifically Florida’s alcoholic beverage laws.  Mrs. Schultz represents clients at all levels of Florida’s three-tiered system and advises clients on a wide array of both state and federal regulatory issues relating to alcoholic beverage laws. Mrs. Schultz earned her BSN from Florida State University’s College of Nursing, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Florida State University College of Law, where she graduated Cum Laude.

Mrs. Schultz is a member of the Florida Bar and a registered nurse. She  holds professional association memberships with the Alliance of Alcohol Industry Attorneys and Consultants, the National Association of Licensing and Compliance Professionals, the Tallahassee Women Lawyers and the Florida Association for Women Lawyers and maintains an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell.

Mr. Gabriel F. V. Warren specializes in administrative law and civil litigation, with a strong emphasis on the representation of health care facilities.  He advises clients on a wide array of both state and federal regulatory issues relating to health care. Mr. Warren graduated from Duke University and obtained his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a Dean’s Scholar. He is a member of the Florida Bar.

Tana D. Storey joined the firm in 2015.  Her practice is concentrated in the areas of administrative, appellate and environmental law.  Tana represents clients in administrative cases before the Division of Administrative Hearings involving administrative rule challenges, public procurement protests, licensing, regulatory enforcement, environmental permitting, affordable housing, health care and claims for benefits.  She has also represented clients before several Florida Circuit Courts, Florida District Courts of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court on a wide array of issues, including the constitutionality of state statutes, statutory interpretation, ballot issues, administrative matters and commercial disputes.

Tana also represents clients before the various state agencies in the areas of pari-mutuel wagering, medical marijuana, regulatory compliance, licensing and permitting, affordable housing as well as sovereign submerged lands.  Additionally, Tana has represented clients before local governments, including obtaining authorization for local development projects, defending and challenging the validity of local government ordinances and defending against notices of violation issued by local entities.

Mrs. Storey received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Florida State University College of Law in 2001, where she was a member of the Florida State Law Review.  Tana received her undergraduate degree from Florida State University.

Mrs. Diana M. Ferguson joined the firm in January 2011 as an attorney and registered lobbyist.  Her practice at Rutledge Ecenia is concentrated in the areas of environmental and administrative law, regulated industries and government relations.  She currently represents several clients, including businesses, local governments and associations.  Prior to joining the firm, Mrs. Ferguson provided legislative counsel to the Florida Association of Counties.  In that capacity, she lobbied numerous environmental issues as well as other local government issues.  Mrs. Ferguson spent a significant amount of time advocating for the counties on water supply and water quality issues in particular.  With regard to water quality, she worked on several pieces of legislation pertaining to significant nonpoint sources of pollution, such as septic tanks and fertilizer, as well as regulatory issues such as total maximum daily loads and numeric nutrient criteria.

Mrs. Ferguson currently uses her extensive advocacy experience in representing several associations and other clients that have wide-ranging policy needs, including telecommunications, professional regulation and environmental permitting, community association law, beach policy and project funding and animal control.  She has also participated in numerous rulemaking processes and lobbied various regulatory issues within several state and regional agencies, including the Department of Environmental Protection, the water management districts, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Mrs. Ferguson graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City with a political science degree. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. She is a member in good standing of the Texas Bar Association and of the Florida Bar Association, where she is a member of the Environmental and Land Use and City, County, and Local Government Law Sections.

Mrs. Ferguson was appointed to the Governor’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change, Adaptation Technical Working Group in 2008; the Florida Legislature’s Beach Management Working Group from 2008 to 2009; and the Florida Beaches Habitat Conservation Plan Steering Committee from 2008 to 2011. She received the Friend of the Florida Association of County Attorneys in June 2009 and the Legislative Appreciation Award, Small County Coalition in June 2009. Mrs. Ferguson has also been recognized as a Florida Legal Elite Up & Comer.  This recognition is based on attorneys under the age of 40 who have exhibited leadership in the law and in their community.

Jennifer F. Hinson joined Rutledge Ecenia, P.A. in April 2017 bringing 16 plus years experience to the firm having previously practiced in both the public and private sector, including WellCare Health Plans, Inc., the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Medical Association.  Most recently, Jennifer worked for WellCare Health Plans as Senior Director of Hospital Contracting.  Jennifer managed WellCare’s Florida hospital network and was responsible for internal health care operations, provider contracting, financial sustainability of hospital rates, regulatory/legal compliance and health care policy issues.  Jennifer and her team managed issues related to reimbursement, claims payment, claim audits, recoveries, medical expense initiatives, member care, ensured compliance with state, federal and internal policies, emergency room utilization, observation and short stays, medical necessity and quality measures.

Throughout her career, Jennifer has represented health care clients in a wide range of matters including professional licensure and regulation, Medicaid Program Integrity investigations, administrative rule making, declaratory statements, variances and waivers, contract drafting and review, HIPPA compliance, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement issues, federal and state anti-kickback, fee splitting and self referral issues, unfair and deceptive trade practices, anti trust issues, and legislative and executive branch lobbying.  Mrs. Hinson has also represented clients in matters involving workers’ compensation claims, state procurements, sovereign immunity, public records, employment law, not-for-profit audits and accountability, corporate compliance, investigation by the Florida Office of the Attorney General and general civil litigation matters.

Mrs. Hinson graduated from the Florida State University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science, and received her Juris Doctor from the Florida State University College of Law in 2000.  Jennifer was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2000.

Amanda M. Hessein is an associate at Rutledge Ecenia, P.A. specializing in administrative law and regulated industries.  Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Hessein was a law clerk for Rutledge Ecenia, P.A.  While in law school, Amanda was a Legislative Assistant for the Florida Press Association, Legal Intern for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Large Business and International Division of the Internal Revenue Service, Treasurer of the Entertainment, Sports and Arts Society and Secretary of the Health Law Society.

Ms. Hessein earned her Juris Doctorate from the Florida State University College of Law and is a member of the Florida Bar.  Ms. Hessein has a Bachelors degree in psychology and political Science from Pace University, where she graduated Cum Laude.  Amanda is also a member of the academic Alpha Chi National Honors Society and Golden Key National Honors Society.

Corinne Mixon is a registered professional lobbyist with more than thirteen years of experience representing clients’ state governmental interests.  At Rutledge Ecenia, Corinne represents a broad client base with a particular emphasis on health care practitioners, education and regulated industries and professions.  She has been instrumental in passing myriad legislation and killing or containing bills which would have negatively impacted her clients.

Prior to joining Rutledge Ecenia, Corinne was principal shareholder of Mixon & Associates, a lobbying firm operating since 1992 which became a part of Rutledge Ecenia in early 2017.  Corinne began her professional career as a Public Relations Account Coordinator at the Zimmerman Agency, the largest hospitality-centered communications firm in the nation.  Corinne managed the public relations efforts for major hotels stretching from the Cayman Islands to New York City.  While earning her BA from the University of Alabama’s School of Communications and Information Sciences, Corinne garnered an internship in the D.C. office of U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, thus igniting her interest in professional lobbying and politics.

Corinne lobbies across multiple platforms: legislative, executive and state regulatory boards.  Corinne has managed a large statewide political campaign and been hired as a crisis communication specialist while maintaining her role as a lobbyist.  She also has significant experience working in association management, having held positions as Executive Director and executive vice president at two large statewide associations.  In her consulting and procurement capacity, Corinne routinely opens doors on behalf of her clients to gain access to local boards and leaders.

During her lobbying career, Corinne has delivered keynote addresses at dozens commencements and conferences.  Corinne became the youngest-ever recipient of the Florida Academy of Physician Assistants’ Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor that is rarely bestowed upon a non-clinician, for her role in passing legislation.

Corinne serves on several committees of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists and is a member of the Florida Education Legislative Liaisons.  She is an avid runner and lover of Florida.

Mrs. Janasiewicz is a Governmental Consultant with Rutledge Ecenia, P.A. and has almost two decades of experience working in and with public schools across the country. Jessica began her career as a 4th grade teacher in Atlanta, Georgia where she taught at Cary Reynolds Elementary School, which is characterized by its large population of low-income, immigrant students. During this time, she earned her M.Ed. in Literacy, which allowed Jessica to better serve her students by having the expertise needed to assist them in building their literacy skills.

Jessica’s experiences working with this population also increased her desire to improve the experiences of traditionally underserved populations, and she concluded the best way to create change was through policy. This desire led Mrs. Janasiewicz to Teachers College, Columbia University where she received her M.A. degree in Politics and Education. Also while pursuing her degree in New York, Jessica served as a Domestic Policy intern at the William J. Clinton Foundation.

Jessica began lobbying for school districts in 2011 and is the lead lobbyist for many of the firms education clients.  Jessica’s educational experience and training makes her unusually credible when working with staff and members charged with building public education policy in Florida.

In addition to her work at Rutledge Ecenia, Jessica serves as a board member on both the Florida’s Missing Children’s Day and the Young Actors Theatre.

Rick Lindstrom is a registered professional lobbyist with more than twenty years of experience representing a wide variety of clients with diverse issues before the Florida Legislature, Cabinet, state agencies and numerous local governments.  At Rutledge Ecenia, Rick represents a broad client base with a particular emphasis on environment, health care, criminal justice, space and technology, labor organizations, sports franchises, Applied Behavior Analysis therapy and medicinal cannabis.

Prior to joining Rutledge Ecenia, Rick was the principal shareholder of Lindstrom Consulting, Inc. for the last sixteen years.  Rick began his professional career with Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, PA.  In this capacity, Rick managed the firm’s policy and budget initiatives and coordinated all political activity and campaign strategies.

Rick is a Miami, Florida native, currently living in Tampa, Florida with his wife Merritt and daughter Logan.