Legislative Relations
Gainesville, Florida
E-mail Contact: bill@thewaldengroup.org
Bill has spent the past twenty years working to improve conditions in North Central Florida. After receiving his Master's Degree from the University of Florida in 1987, he began work with the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports in 1988 and served as Development Director from 1996-99. After nearly twelve years of service, the statute that created the Governor's Council was repealed, leaving its staff to look for other opportunities. Since 1996, he has worked at two Olympic Games (Atlanta and Salt Lake City) and has assisted several non-profit organizations move forward in their missions. Bill turned his attention to management consulting and then to political consulting in 2002. For the past ten years, he has served on numerous advisory boards and committeesin Alachua County and at the state level in Florida. Bill served on the Florida Department of Health/Department of Education Comprehensive School Health Consortium (1998-99).
He served as chairman of the City of Gainesville's Recreation Advisory Board from 1999-2001, vice-chair of Alachua County's Recreation and Open Space Committee from 1998-2001, the Alachua County Tourist Development Council from 1997-2001. He has also been involved with homeless issues since 1997 and staged two benefit concerts for Gainesville's St. Francis House homeless shelter in 2001.
In September, 2005, he traveled to Moss Point, Mississippi to volunteer in the disaster relief effort following Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast. In January of 2006, Bill traveled to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in order to raise money for the Climb for Cancer Foundation. He currently serves, in his third term, as vice-chairman of Alachua County's Tourist Development Council and former chairman of the Original Florida Tourism Task Force, a fourteen-county tourism promotion organization committed to economic development through tourism marketing. He has also served on Visit Florida's Rural Tourism Committee.
Bill has lived on Bivens Arm in Gainesville since 1995, and has guided numerous trips to North Florida's best natural rivers and springs, including the Withlacoochee, the St. Mary's and the Suwannee. He founded The Walden Group in 2005 and created Paddle Florida in 2007.
Sopchoppy, Florida
E-mail Contact: robert@thewaldengroup.org
In 1978 Robert Seidler first became involved with Broadcast Television while attending Florida State University in Tallahassee Florida. Here Robert worked at WFSU-TV a PBS station, as a cinematographer/editor specializing in 16mm documentaries. In 1983 Robert's skills lead him into educational productions with Digital Controls Video Group. While at DCVG Robert produced linear films/videotapes as well as interactive videodiscs. In 1984 The Center For Instructional Development (FSU) formed the Interactive Systems Group specializing in interactive learning applications with the assistance of level III interactive videodiscs. Robert worked as Technical director/Producer on a project by project basic for six years. In 1984 Robert also formed Seidler Productions Inc.
There he began to produce and market his own line of products. Since 1988 he has co-produced many programs with PBS and the BBC receiving national and international awards for his works. His line of products has grown to over fifty titles, and are use in over twenty countries. He is passionate about children, education and nature.
He has twenty-five years experience working on growth management issues.
Live Oak, Florida
E-mail Contact: robin@thewaldengroup.org
Robin White is the President of Florida eTours, a travel packaging company specializing in rural tourism and environmental education tours. Robin has extensive governmental and private sector experience including land use planning where she served as the project coordinator for a variety of projects including the North Key Largo Land Use Feasibility Study, Cross Florida Greenway State Recreation and Conservation Area Management Plan, and the Plan for a Statewide System of Greenways and Trails.
She has lead and managed appointed governmental groups including the Florida Recreational Trails Council, The Greenways and Trails Coordinating Council; and the Canal Lands Advisory Committee. She has extensive experience managing public hearings with an emphasis on controversial topics.
Robin also served as the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands Administration where her real estate knowledge and skills were used to issue use agreements, easements, and leases and to evaluate and process the sale of state-owned lands. Robin has also worked extensively in the private sector serving as a draftsman for a pre-fab manufactured homes company in Mobile, Alabama, a political consultant working on issues involving local government ordinance changes, including controversial issues such as changing local ordinances to allow the Sunday sale of alcohol. She has consulted with not-for-profit organizationsto streamline their organizational structures to more effectively raise funds through land acquisition sales and to develop effective case statements that evaluate and recommend organizational modifications to increase their organizations' advocacy effectiveness. She has planned and managed a number of political events and has assisted in a number of candidate and issue campaigns. Most recently she has worked with the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida, assisting in a variety of business efficiency projects, governmental relations projects, and in event production. Robin is a graduate of Florida State University and holds a Bachelors degree in Social Science and Political Science and a Masters degree in Business under the Applied American Politics and Policy program.
Bronson, Florida
E-mail Contact: duane@thewaldengroup.org
Duane is an attorney working in Bronson, Florida as a prosecutor. He graduated from the University of Florida with an undergraduate degree in communications in 1993. From 1993 to 1995 he worked in television in Gainesville, Florida at TV-20, the local ABC affiliate. At TV-20 Duane worked in news and commercial production. While working at TV-20, Duane applied and was accepted into law school at the University of Florida. He studied law at Florida for three years, graduating in 1998. After passing the Florida bar, Duane worked as a criminal defense attorney and a public defender in Ocala, Florida. He worked as a public defender in both Ocala and Orlando for over two years representing indigent clients charged with criminal offenses. In 2001, Duane accepted a job for a private firm back in Gainesville. In the private sector Duane practiced in a variety of areas of the legal system including personal injury, disability, dependency and criminal defense. Duane had been practicing in the private sector until August of 2006 when he took a job in the Eighth Circuit of Florida as a prosecutor. He has worked the last year prosecuting felonies in Levy County, Florida.
He is a member of the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee and from 2003 to 2004 he co-hosted a Democratic radio show on an AM station in Ocala titled ‘Southpaw’. Duane feels privileged for the opportunity to be associated with the Walden Group and is very excited about the impact and change the Group will produce on Florida’s political landscape. Duane’s goal is to secure a more progressive outlook for Florida in the coming years and he is confident that the Walden Group will be the impetus and spark for such a future.
Gainesville, Florida
E-mail Contact: tony@thewaldengroup.org
Tony Kendzior has been a resident of Gainesville since 1959 when he entered the University of Florida as a freshman. He graduated from the University of Florida (UF) in 1963 with a degree in Business Administration and in 1975, he earned a Master of Education degree, also from UF.
He has been in the financial services industry since 1976, having earned the professional designations of Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). He has been registered to sell investments since 1984. Today his firm, Kendzior Financial Group, Inc. is a Registered Investment Adviser where Tony’s efforts are focused on comprehensive investment management for clients and estate planning.
His community involvements have ranged from being Chairman of the Alachua County Bicentennial Commission in the 1970's to a founding board member and Secretary of the Gainesville Community Foundation today. There have been numerous other activities and board tenures over the years, including chapter president of the Gainesville Estate Planning Council.
Moer's truism: The trouble with most jobs is the job holder's resemblance to being one of a sled dog team. No one gets a change of scenery except the lead dog."
Political Communications
Gainesville, Florida
E-mail Contact: susan@thewaldengroup.org
Raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Susan moved to Gainesville in 1975 to attend the University of Florida. After earning an A.A. degree in Liberal Arts she a completed a year of coursework in Broadcast Journalism and then switched her major to Anthropology (B.A., 1979).
Newly married, Susan and her husband decided the time was right to return to Gainesville and start a family. As a stay-at-home mother, she volunteered for the PTA as Publicity/Public Relations Chair (1993-2000) and Vice President of Programs (2000-2001).
Susan further developed her community activist skills by serving on the Alachua County Child Care Center Board (1990), Alachua County Visions 2000 (1996-97), East Gainesville Development Task Force (1997-98), the Strategic Planning Action Team for the School Board of Alachua County (1999-2000) and the Literacy Network (1999-2002).
Susan is also a graduate of the Dale Carnegie Public Speaking Course (1986) and the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Gainesville program, Class of XXV (1998).
In 1996, Susan co-founded a non-profit corporation whose mission it was to establish a hands-on, interactive children’s museum in the Gainesville area. Their Board of Directors and dedicated volunteers held numerous events, exhibits and fundraisers throughout Alachua County (1996-2003). Her experience with the children’s museum project sparked an interest in tourist development so Susan entered the Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism graduate program at the University of Florida (2001-2002). Her coursework included eco-tourism, marketing and urban and regional planning.
Meanwhile, Susan was bitten by the political bug and joined the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee (2004). Susan currently serves on the ACDEC Steering Committee and as a Sector Coordinator, overseeing fourteen precincts in Alachua County. She has attended several campaign training courses, worked on local campaigns, event planning, published political commentary columns and was a political consultant for the ACDEC during the 2006 General election.
Environmental Science
Belleair, Florida
E-mail Contact: walt@thewaldengroup.org
Walt’s 25 year career has consisted of conducting environmental impact assessment studies for a wide spectrum of project types. He was accredited by the ESA as a Certified Senior Ecologist, and by the NAEP as a Certified Environmental Professional. He managed environmental projects in many US states, the Caribbean and Asia. His most recent assignment was as manager of the environmental impact study for Hong Kong’s new airport.
Walt inherited a keen desire for travel from his parents and explored much of Europe and North America at an early age. As an adult he extended his explorations to South America and Asia. He has lived and traveled in Europe for 10 years and in Asia for about 9 years. Most of his travel was to remote areas … including independent travel to most of pre-liberated Eastern European countries, Turkey, Chile, Peru, Argentina, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, NZ, and, closer to home, remote areas in Alaska, northern Canada, Mexico and the US western states. These trips generally included major hikes as well as multi-day paddling and power boat adventures.
Paddling in Florida started for Walt in 1958 on the Suwannee River and he has since participated in and led well over a hundred Florida river trips and about an equal number of hikes. His degrees in Zoology/Ecology are from UF and he is very knowledgeable about Florida ecosystems and Florida wildlife. He is a fluent German speaker.
