Florida State Senator, District 35 — serving since 2024. Born and raised in Miami Beach, Senator Barbara Sharief began her nursing career in 1992 after graduating from the Jackson Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. She later earned her BSN and MSN from Florida International University and her DNP from Wilkes University. In 2001, she founded South Florida Pediatric Homecare, Inc., serving as its CEO for 20 years before launching her own primary care practice. Senator Sharief entered public service in 2009 as a member of the Miramar City Commission and later served on the Broward County Commission. In 2014, she made history as Broward County’s first African American mayor and later became the first Black woman to serve as president of the Florida Association of Counties. Her leadership was tested during some of her community’s most difficult moments, including the 2017 Fort Lauderdale airport shooting and the recovery from Hurricane Irma. Now serving in the Florida Senate, Senator Sharief continues to champion priorities informed by her nursing experience, including improving Medicaid access and lowering prescription drug costs. Her public service has earned numerous honors, including the United Nations Association of the USA Global Partnership Award and the March of Dimes Woman of Distinction Award. Senator Sharief’s journey—from bedside nurse and healthcare entrepreneur to state senator—demonstrates the difference nurses can make when they bring their expertise into policymaking and why cultivating the next generation of nurse legislators matters.