JOHNSTON, IOWA: Ron DeSantis' wife, Casey DeSantis, recently made headlines for her solo appearance in Johnston, Iowa, on Thursday, July 6, to launch the nationwide version of the Mamas for DeSantis grassroots group to promote her husband as the face of the parents' rights movement. While the First Lady of Florida is currently going viral for her latest move in her husband's 2024 presidential campaign, she has long established a successful career in the world of television.
After graduating from the College of Charleston with a bachelor's degree in Economics, Casey eventually became a well-known newscaster and TV host. She married the Florida Governor in 2009 and became the First Lady of Florida in 2019 before establishing the First Lady's Medal for Courage, Commitment, and Service.
Casey DeSantis' early life and career
Casey was born as Jill Casey Black on June 26, 1980, in Zanesville, Ohio, to former US Air Force Officer and optometrist Robert Black and speech-language pathologist Jeanne Caponigro. She graduated from the College of Charleston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a minor in French. Casey went on to become a news reporter and anchor for WJXT in Jacksonville, Florida, and also served as the host for Golf Channel programs 'On The Tee' and 'PGA Tour Today.'
Moreover, she played other journalistic roles in WJXT, including that of a general assignment reporter, a morning anchor, and a police reporter. Casey also became the creator-moderator of 'The Chat', an hour-long panel discussion talk show in 2014, moving on to hosting the shows 'First Coast Living' and 'The American Dream'. One of the turning points in her career had to be writing and producing the TV documentary 'Champion: The JT Townsend Story', which gained quite a bit of traction. Casey went on to win a regional Suncoast Emmy Award and was dubbed "one of the most recognizable faces on Jacksonville television" by Florida Politics.
Casey DeSantis' efforts to launch resiliency in schools
Months before launching the nationwide version of the "Mamas for DeSantis" grassroots group in Iowa, Casey held a roundtable at Florida State University to discuss the state's first-in-the-nation efforts to reframe mental health education in order to focus on resiliency and to incentivize parental involvement in schools. The State Board of Education adopted Casey's recommendations to incorporate key resiliency skills, including grit, perseverance, gratitude, personal responsibility, volunteerism, critical thinking, problem-solving, empathy, citizenship, and honesty.
"As a mama of three little ones, I am proud that Florida is leading the nation in education, and I am thrilled to see how our efforts to reframe and rethink mental health will equip our students and future Floridians to be more resilient," Casey said at the time, adding, "We also know that by incentivizing parental involvement in schools, our students will benefit academically and culturally from the positive influence of mentorship." The First Lady of Florida went on to announce more than $21 million in funding to create and distribute the resiliency curriculum, including parent and teacher toolkits.
