Support Offices

Support offices provide central administrative support to all agency programs. A description of each office is provided below.

Office of the Executive Director

Nick Wiley, Executive Director
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
850-487-3796

The Office of the Executive Director provides overall leadership for the FWC. It sets direction and evaluates divisions and offices within the agency. The office facilitates effective interaction with the commissioners, FWC staff, stakeholders, the Florida Legislature and federal and state agencies to address the various interests of the FWC.

The executive director and assistant executive director supervise all agency activities to ensure effective and efficient operations in all divisions and offices. Further responsibilities include maintaining facilities supporting infrastructure and assisting in setting agency-wide priorities for goals and strategies. The chief of staff assists in all operations of the Office of the Executive Director and works closely with the Senior Leadership Team to ensure effective integration of agency activities and program efforts of the FWC's divisions and offices.

Finance and Budget Office

Whit Springfield, Director
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
850-488-6551

The Finance and Budget Office is responsible for accounting and operational services and central agency support for all divisions and offices of the FWC. This office provides sound financial management of FWC resources while providing information and support services to agency employees and other customers.  Finance and Budget Office personnel are located in the five regional offices, the St. Petersburg office of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and in the Tallahassee office.

Legal Office

Harold "Bud" Vielhauer, General Counsel
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
850-487-1764

In-house attorneys provide legal services for the FWC or coordinate through the Attorney General's Office or the Florida Division of Risk Management. The Legal Office represents the FWC in litigation, prepares legal opinions, develops and reviews contracts and other legal instruments, drafts and reviews legislation and rules, and provides general legal counsel relating to FWC operations. The general counsel is a liaison between the FWC and stakeholders, partners and federal, state and local agencies.

Legislative Affairs Office

Jacqueline Fauls, Director
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
850-487-3795

The Legislative Affairs Office develops and coordinates state and federal legislative activities for the FWC. This office works with the Legislature to pass the agency's legislative proposals and provides necessary information to the Florida Legislature and the U.S. Congress about other legislation under consideration that might affect Florida's fish and wildlife resources. Working in conjunction with the chief financial officer, the Legislative Affairs Office also works with the Legislature to pass the agency's budget requests.

Office of Human Resources

Cindy Hoffman, Director
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
850-488-6411

The Office of Human Resources provides services and support to all FWC employees. This office advises agency personnel on employment law and state personnel rules, and assists managers with recruitment and selection, attendance and leave, discipline, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, classification and pay, retirement, state insurance benefits, and collective bargaining. Human Resources also coordinates training and develops diversity programs for the agency.

Office of Information Technology

Kevin Patten, Director
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
850-414-2870

This office manages all information technology of the FWC. Duties include capacity plans, budgets, procurement approvals and implementation. The Office of Information Technology assists FWC staff in meeting business goals and priorities through technical support. This support involves developing applications and storing, managing and rapidly retrieving information across the FWC enterprise, while providing appropriate tools to navigate those resources.

This office is responsible for developing agency policy for procurement and acceptable use of both telecommunication and information technology resources of the FWC. It also creates and implements data standards for storage and exchange of information, data catalogs for tracking information sources, and Web-based solutions for geographical information visualization. The office provides expertise in desktop, network, application and data-integration services, as well as telecommunications management.

Office of Inspector General

James Knight, Inspector General
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
850-488-6068

As mandated by state law, this office is responsible for coordinating activities that promote accountability, integrity and efficiency in government and serves as the FWC's ombudsman. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) handles financial audits of agency programs and investigates allegations of fraud, waste, mismanagement, employee misconduct and other abuses. These investigations include whistle-blower and other criminal and non-criminal investigations of misconduct. This office attempts to resolve internal employee concerns and is the point of contact with the state auditor general, as well as with federal audit entities. OIG generates audit reports for the executive director on finances, compliance and performance of the agency.

Offices of Regional Operations

Five regional FWC offices coordinate and integrate agency programs at the local level to ensure the FWC's mission, policies and services are consistent across the state. These offices maintain effective and inclusive internal and external communications. Each regional director provides an access point to the FWC's leadership on a local level, serving as liaison with federal, state and local government officials within each specific region.

Louie Roberson, Regional Director Northwest Region 3911 Highway 2321 Panama City, FL 32409-1658 850-265-3676	Rolando Garcia, Regional Director North Central Region 3377 E. U.S. Highway 90  Lake City, FL 32055-8795 386-758-0525
Dennis David, Regional Director Northeast Region 1239 S.W. 10th Street Ocala, FL 34471-0323 352-732-1225	Chris Wynn, Regional Director Southwest Region 3900 Drane Field Road Lakeland, FL 33811-1299 863-648-3200
Chuck Collins, Regional Director South Region 8535 Northlake Boulevard West Palm Beach, FL 33412 561-625-5122