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The Honorable Alex Sink
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Adelaide "Alex" Sink served as Florida’s elected Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2011. As one of four statewide elected officials, she led the Department of Financial Services including responsibility for the state's treasury and accounting functions, served as a trustee for the state pension fund, directed the insurance consumer advocacy work along with serving as Chair of Florida Healthy Kids (S Chip program) among many other responsibilities. Prior to elected office, Alex had a 26-year career at Bank of America. She was BAC Florida President from 1993 to 2000, leading the state’s largest bank with $40 billion in deposits and more than 9000 employees in over 800 branches.
In her 30+ years as a resident of Florida, Alex has been active in Democratic Party politics, was the second Democratic woman elected to state-wide office (Betty Castor previously served as the elected Commissioner of Education), and has served as a delegate to several Democratic National Conventions. In addition to serving as the state’s Chief Financial Officer, in 2010, Alex was the first female major-party nominee to run for Governor, a race she narrowly lost in what was then the closest gubernatorial election in Florida history. In 2008, Sink founded Ruth’s List Florida, an organization to identify, recruit, train, mentor and elect more Democratic women at both the local and state levels. Since inception, Ruth’s List Florida has helped elect over 250 women to state and local office, raised more than $8,500,000 for endorsed candidates, and trained more than 2,500 women to run for office in Florida. Sink’s extensive nonprofit leadership includes serving as past board chair of United Way Suncoast, Leadership Florida, Take Stock in Children, Hillsborough Education Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy (Florida Chapter). She served for 25 years as a trustee at Wake Forest University and is now a life trustee. Most recently, she served as board chair of the Tampa Bay Wave, a tech startup accelerator. Additionally, she serves on the boards of United Way Suncoast, Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay, and the Dali Museum. She is the Co-Chair of the FL Advisory Board for bi-partisan U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, an advocacy organization for a strong International Affairs Budget. Born in Mount Airy, NC, Alex holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University. Her father was a hardworking farmer and her mother was a homemaker, musician, and choir director. Sink's parents were both leaders in the community, serving as officers in several organizations such as Kiwanis, Home Demonstration Clubs and the Surry County Democratic Party. Her maternal great-grandfather was Chang Bunker, one of the famous conjoined "Siamese Twins" Chang and Eng Bunker. She grew up in the original home of Chang and Adelaide Bunker. Alex has been recognized by numerous community organizations for her public service and non-profit work, including the Hillsborough County Women's Hall of Fame inductee 2024, Tampa Bay Business Journal Businesswomen of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, 2020 Florida Citizen of the Year from the Bob Graham Center for Public Policy at the University of Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning Community Hero Award in 2018, The H.L. Culbreath Jr. Profile in Leadership Award in 2017 and the Junior Achievement Tampa Bay Hall of Fame Laureate Award in 2013. Additionally, she was inducted to the Girl Scouts Hall of Fame in 2020. Alex currently resides in Thonotosassa, Florida. Her late husband, Bill McBride, was a well-known lawyer, business leader, decorated Marine who served in the Vietnam War and Democratic Florida gubernatorial nominee in 2002. Their two children are Bert, a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Florida Law School, who practices law at Trenam Law in Tampa and Lexi, a graduate of Wake Forest University, the University of Florida Medical School, and current pediatric critical care fellow at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC. Alex is the proud grandmother of four. |