Welcome to Knight Talks, the University of Florida College of Journalism Communicat show, produced by students for s Im Paola Perez, a freshman studying media produc Our guest today is Jamal Allen S who is in 2005 UF graduate.

After college, he enlisted as a and went to war to Afghanistan b taking on roles, including Special Assistant to UF President Bernie Machen, working in Israel for Shurat HaD Chief of Staff for Port Tampa Ba and the Florida Secretary of Com He's a Pat Tillman Scholar and b member of the UF Alumni Associat a nationally acclaimed veterans organization Team Red, White and He's a member of the Florida Council of 100.

And is the President of Business at Indelible, a national managem consulting firm while serving the United States Navy Reserve.

Hi, Jamal.

Thank you so much for being here No problem.

Going back to your time in colle what drew you to study religion I went to a small Christian scho My senior class had about 15 stu maybe four or five of those were homeschool So I always enjoyed the topic of My mom raised my brother and I to be pastors.

So both of them are now involved in Christian ministry.

So as I got to UF, my plan was to go to UF and then and then go to seminary school.

But something was different in store for me.

And I think that that major allo to understand different faiths and different backgrounds.

So as a student, I came here, I said, Well, I want to learn about other reli other faith beliefs.

So I joined the Jewish Student U and met people at the Hillel and just started to ask question And for me, it was more so trying to really my horizon that opened so many d So I majored with the hopes of being a pastor but I took a different direction as I got more involved in colleg and obviously became student bod president.

While finishing your bachelor's you were also the student body p as you just said, and university You graduated from a small Christian school in central Flor where senior class was 15 people with a lot of those being homeschool students.

So from the outside looking in, that seems impossibl for one to come from such a smal to say they now want to lead a student body of over 50,000 st So tell us a little bit about that experience.

And was it tough balancing your academic demands and the trials of being student body president?

I came to UF in the summer of 20 very overwhelmed at first because obviously coming from Or I'm from an area called Pine Hil And I got into UF, I said, Well, what do you do to so many people 50,000 students.

And for me I just had a genuine in getting to know people.

I joined the Hispanics Student Association, Asian Student Union groups.

My perspective was like all of my friends did not have m All of my friends did not look l I need to have a vast array of f from different backgrounds.

So that taught me about places like Miami, people like in Atlanta and the West Coa and the Midwest.

People from around the world were here at UF.

Ran for student body president r so because it just seemed imposs Like, Jamal, what are you doing?

You're not a big personality.

And there's no way you can win.

And I said that, well, my major was not in math.

It's in miracles.

And what that did was really set on a journey of adventure, because then I realized and I want to stress to college students today that take the test in college.

Everybody takes it so serious, but it's okay to mes because at college the stakes ar So when you're now on TV interviewing in ten years when you're on Fox News or CNN, I knew her because she interview and got those skills as a freshm And you were able to hone it when when the stakes were low.

After that, you then attended the University of Massa Amherst to get your master's in and worked at Texas A&M University and Amherst Colle So what were your career aspirations at this point?

So for being president, I wanted to be a college preside because my mentor became UF President Bernie Machen.

And I just loved how the univers Yes, it's an education entity, but it's also a business.

So seeing that gave me so much i So I went to work for- I did the fellowship at Texas A& Worked at Amherst College and obviously UMass Amherst.

And so my master's was in higher ed administration, and for me it was really wanting to expand my horizons outside the South.

Born and raised in the South had really, ever been to the Northea It was a phenomenal experience because intellectually it pushed to show that I had what it took to really achieve anywhere I wen When you're in this bubble of yo that you've done well in college comfortable to go to UF for grad school, law school, PhD For me, I said, Well, I want to challenge my int with the kids from Yale, from Ha Amherst, Williams.

And that made me uncomfortable a But it was the best thing that could have happened because I was there by myself, d have any friends, didn't know an but really had to grow as an adu Really proved to myself that I had what it took from the great skills garnered at UF to really do well around the wor I think it's fascinating, you know, constantly pushing you It's scary.

So while in grad school, you als in the United States Marine Corp What inspired your service?

And what do those five years mea My grandfather was in World War My dad was in Vietnam and my brother was in Iraq.

And this is the time, early 2000 everybody was protesting the war in terms of the wars in Iraq, Af I did not want to miss my time i And I also wanted to serve because of the family legacy.

My dad retired from the Army.

And for me, I had so many friend who say, well, we support the tr We are for the troops, but they would never serve.

They were like buff in the gym all the time at the Southwest Re And I'm like, Well, you support the troops and you'r so you should join, right?

And it just perplexed me.

And I did not want to be that ty who say, I wish I would have.

I could have.

So I just did it.

I told my family after the fact.

Like, what are you doing?

You know, right now this is ‘06.

Everybody's mad at Bush and and Everybody's protesting.

Again, it came from my desire at UF to really want to expand my horizons, push myself to beco but also take chances.

Yes, it was a chance, but it was the chance of a lifet And I'm thankful for my father setting that example, my grandfather, my brother, for that service is something that's and that's something that should be respected, but also something that people s want to do and not just talk abo when it's convenient.

You return to Gainesville eventually in 2011.

You then became Special Assistan to the University of Florida Pre and Assistant Corporate Secretar Tell us a little bit about what this role entailed.

So President Machen at that time he started in January ‘04 and hi was to stay about eight years.

He stayed longer.

So he asked me, Jamal, how about you come to work for m how to be a class president?

You will be my right hand, going to meetings.

You'll coordinate all the activi and activities of the board of t all the votes, all the process.

So that allowed me to show I really learned the idea of gov how a school is operated and how Having the chance to learn from who was president of the Univers of Utah, Provost at the Universi of Michigan, Acting President of University of Michi Just a vast array of experiences opened so many doors for me and I want to be like that one day.

I want to learn how to run a uni And for him was more so about really empowering stude whether it's through scholarship But also you have so many differ constituencies, whether it's alu whether it's donors, whether it's faculty, whether it students, the legislature, but having to learn from him dir for three and a half years was p So I left that job when he was about to retire.

But that really changed my entire trajectory.

So the idea of mentorship is key because somebody can get all the that they want.

But having the chance to learn directly in the studio, learn di from a CEO or president, that is in a lifetime opportunity that r allows you to learn from their s and also from their mistakes.

After that in 2014, you enrolled in Indiana Universi Bloomington Mauer School of Law on a Pat Tillman scholarship.

So what motivated you to pursue a law degree?

And tell me a little bit about, your experience working in Israel at this time.

My father was a lawyer.

He graduated UF Law back in 1974 Always wanted to go to law school, did not want to practice My aunt was a lawyer, too.

But for me, the academic rigor that I saw that he had having a JD would open so many doors.

Thought about going to the MBA r but wanted to go the law route because of my father.

And for me was more so trying to really that family But I wanted to also leave Flori for a time because I felt that I was getting too comfortab I was a student leader here, then came back home.

It was great and everything, but I lived in every part of the except the Midwest.

So for me it was more so a chance to really leave Flor get some more expertise, because for me to be a college p schools want people who have a v array of experiences to show that you've worked at different you've been at different schools your degrees are from different And when I saw backgrounds of co presidents, I realized that, this is very intriguing how UF picks presidents from oth And in a lot of schools do that because you want somebody who has different ideas, a different thought process, and also a vast array of experie that can make the school better.

So I did law school mostly because of my father, even though I did not want to practice law.

But it opened so many doors intellectually, so many doors professionally, being in the Midwest was amazing There's a term called Midwest mo Everybody's very nice out there.

And for me, that allowed me to really understand America bet And from having now lived in every single region of the count So I was so intrigued with going to Israel.

My first time in Israel was in c because I joined the Jewish Stud and I was involved in a group called Gators For Israel.

And then I went to Israel, then So then I went my second time wa that whole semester there.

Phenomenal.

I lived in Tel Aviv, but I can walk to the Israeli ma I worked in an area called Ramat People would ask me, Do you spea And I would say, (speaks Hebrew) which means I don't speak Hebrew And someone would say, I'm from What's not?

And it was just a phenomenal exp because it really showed me a international country that is very passionate about who they are, what they do and but also gave me a desire to learn about the world.

And obviously I had already been to Afghanista but walking to work in Israel ev taking the bus, talking to peopl just a chance of a lifetime, but also having that experience really broadened my horizon to o bring those skills back to my home state of Florida So you speak about different vie different religions.

How do you think that's impacted how you work in all these differ of careers that you've kind of w Where I grew up in Orlando, most of my friends were my backg went to the same churches.

Went to revivals all the time.

Bible studies on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, youth group And that was what we did in Orla And it was fun and I enjoyed it because my brot a praise and worship leader at a Having one brother who's an associate pastor at a church But I realized when I got to col I said, if all of my friends thi me, had the same background, my perspective, my connection is going to be ver very limited.

And not even when it comes to just friends, but also when it comes to busine when it comes to opportunities.

So my freshman year, I went to t and I met a guy named Keith Dvor who is now a mentor of mine.

He was the CEO of Hillel.

I would ask him questions.

He just was very intrigued.

He became a mentor of mine, and that's now 23 years ago.

But for me, it was more so making sure that I made frien organically that did not look li that did not have my beliefs, that did not think like me.

And now that has really opened t for so many opportunities in my because I can have a perspective or at least ask or know where to when it comes to having a friend who has nothing in common with me aesthetically, but now so much good friends I know how it is to really tap into someone's intellectual death or their fait or just to ask questions in a genuine manner to really find the commonalities And what that did for me at UF w it changed my life.

So in 2016, you worked for India Congressman Todd Young.

How did that opportunity come ab and what impact were you able to make in that of In law school, I served on two academic journal but I knew I did not want to pra because I saw what my dad did and it was great for him, but I enjoyed foreign policy.

So Congressman Todd Young had an office in Bloomington, Indian because he lived there.

One day I reached out, I just ca I said, I want to work for you.

Great experience, because at this time he was runn for the United States Senate, but he had been in the Marine Co He went to the Naval Academy.

He had a masters, went to law sc It was very intriguing.

But he had a very humble persona Having the chance to work for hi and see him on a regular really inspired me to show that people can serve in differe And being that Bloomington, Indi was a small town, having the opp to walk to his office, work all day and walk home and obviou kind of expanded my horizon beca everybody is going to be a 4.0.

That definitely wasn't me.

Not everybody's going to be the perfect student.

But for me, my experience intell was going to come from outside the classroom, from the academic journals, from being involved in debates and discussions.

And that's really how I learned and having the chance to work for a congressman in Indiana at even though Indiana may be a sma state, it gave me a global exper I think it's really fascinating you called him up and asked him which is something, you know, especially as a freshm when you're entering this world people want to help, people want to be resources for I think it's really interesting that and see how far it can take I say all somebody can say is no but you don't want to have a reg I always have a thing that I do not want to die with r Both of my parents have passed.

When I had the chance to spend w they just had so much joy that their legacy was passed down to their kids.

And I want to be one day like th my son I've laid it all in the f I don't have any regrets.

And I wanted to do everything th on this earth to make a positive So in December 2018, Governor-el Ron DeSantis named you as Florid Secretary of Commerce and CEO of Enterprise Florida In What does that role entail and what were some of your biggest c At that time I was at the port, I just bought a house in 2017.

So in Tampa Bay you had the Hill side, Pinellas side, and Saint P Loving it.

I have family there.

I'm set, I don't want to move, don't want to go anywhere.

I am content.

A buddy of mine asked me to inte for the governor elect.

And at first I was like, No, I'm because I just got back to Flori My father was getting older, wanted to be there.

But he said, Jamal, just intervi Just interview, it's okay.

Just interview because I learned to never say no to an interview.

Even if you don't want the job at least have the conversation because you never know what type of door that can open.

So I interviewed and obviously w to be the Secretary of Commerce, that was a role that really allo to tap back in to my experience because five months into the rol we did a trade mission to Israel which was amazing.

Because I was able to see my fri and say, (speaks Hebrew) and saw and family there that I've known from my time as a freshman, meeting my friends on campus at the Hillel of the GSU or through other organizations.

So that role was primarily the economic development arm for the state of Florida to recr businesses and also to expand co from the Northeast, from the Mid from the West Coast down to Flor So when those who are talented like yourself and other UF Gator they may want to graduate and leave Florida.

But we can say, hey, you know, we have these corporations here in Florida, here in Miami, here in Orange Co here in rural Florida, in the Pa that you can stay in Florida to these jobs rather than going to Rather than going to Chicago or Now, granted, I tell people have the experienc See how it is, but we want you to come back hom one day to really bring those sk back to the state of Florida.

So, you know, kind of going off you're saying as someone who is in north central Florida for the first time, what have you been able to take away from the communitie My father is from a small town called Jasper, Florida, about an hour, 10 minutes north Hamilton County, Florida, born and raised there.

So I have a lot of family in Gai Because people in Jasper, its v So they'll either move to Tallah Lake City or Gainesville or some in Saint Pete.

So I got to Gainesville, I was amazed that I had so much here that I didn't know about.

And being from Orlando was kind So I got to know North Central F very well, whether it's Lake City, Micanopy, Hawthorne, Alachua is what some of the my friends c It was just amazing because when think Gainesville, they think sm But Gainesville was really an international city You see it now with people from around the worl and even my friends here who have now stayed here.

So when I came back to work for the school, that allowed me to learn Gainesv in a different way and saw that so many treasures here in North Central Florida.

In 2022, you became President of Solutions at Indelible.

Tell us a little bit about this consulting firm, the services yo and your responsibilities there.

The firm was started by two Florida natives who are Flor graduates, Joshua Hay and Michae And Joshua was from Jacksonville Michael from Sarasota.

And I met them just through the and everything.

But I realized I was connected t because remember I was saying in high school all we did was go church, church revivals in other So I got to know Mike's church from Sarasota because we would do a youth grou down there in Sarasota.

So when I got to meet him years in Tallahassee, I really saw the great work they were doing.

They were a smaller company.

I'd always worked for big names: Tampa Port, the Marine Corps, University of I wanted something different, but I wanted a different pace because now I'm married, having My wife is amazing, who's a teac I went to Alcorn State in Mississippi in the band and then also grad school.

I wanted something different bec so many years I focus on achieve on being a James Bond, traveling and doing exciting things.

But I realized when my father di in August of 2020, I had all that success, all the great feats, but nobody to share it with.

And that's when I really realize that I had to make a change.

Because when my father died, he was in hospice and I was next and my other siblings live in ot the places.

Had he not had kids, he may have been there by himsel And for me, that part of my life that night, really at the time I all this stuff is cool.

It's great serving the military, being around the world and cool but not having anybody to share that with to me was a problem fo And I knew it was now on me to h and make sure that my father's legacy lives on so that I can tell my son about I can tell him about how much of a great role model he was to see him serve in the military as a lawye and really come from a small tow in the backwoods of Florida, but make it in to become one of 20 black law school graduates at and one of the first 100 black l in Florida that came from the ba of Florida picking tobacco.

And to me, that night that he died in August 2020 show it was time to make a change.

It's clearly impacted how you ch where you want to work and how you want to have your le And since 2018, you've been the of Florida Alumni Association board member.

So what kind of impels you to re connected to your alma mater and to keep coming back to UF?

My time at UF was life changing because when I would go home to a lot of people were just amazed I was not the most likely to suc I was not the most gregarious.

I was pretty, almost an introver And when I would go home, people were like, You're doing this and I don't believe it.

Like how?

And for me it was a way to really push myse to be uncomfortable in a new env when the stakes were low because I used to hate public sp but I did all the time.

I got to get better.

I got to get better, got to get So now imagine you're 30.

You've never gained those skills when you were 19, 20 and you're in a boardroom in a j and people are expecting you to a certain intellectual repertoir of writing and speaking.

But now if you haven't gained th when it didn't count, that's going to affect you profe So I was glad I made those mista of stumbling in my words, having speeches, not knowing how to art something at 18, 19 years old in Gainesville, because that pre for the Marine Corps.

And what being Student Body President did for me, it gave me confidence to then, i become Student Body President at go to Afghanistan, I can be a ma I can do all these different thi But that came from that time of pushing myself when it really seemed like all odds were against me.

But Im thankful for people who in me, for mentors, professors, students who said, Well, hey, maybe we should give them a And I never wanted to disappoint I think it's really interesting, you know, to come from the fact you know, I wasn't valedictorian in high s I definitely wasnt.

UF is not just a bunch of 4.0s walking around and a lot of people have to find their indivi and their individual story.

So I think it's really interesti for you to point out that there's not a one track per that's going to UF.

And one track like way out of, you know, UF once you graduate.

Definitely.

So you're also now on the board Red, White and Blue, and a membe of the Florida Council of 100.

So tell us a little bit about these organizations and the importance of being invo with organizations like these.

I have a rule in terms of involv it has to be something I'm passi about because now when you're a have a wife, its different with And for me, Team Red, White and Blue is a veterans org that really focuses on veterans physical fitness.

And whether it's our teams that in California, its national.

So the idea is when somebody gets out of the mi they may not be in the reserves, but they still want that camarad from other veterans who can then they can hike with, workout with have that camaraderie wherever they live in the countr and really build a friendship and a support group of veterans, it's mental health or physical h And that's what we focus on.

The Council of 100 is a body of leaders in Florida who are selec by its membership to really give insight on the bu climate in the state.

Its some of the top CEOs and le from around the state.

And that really allows me to kee involved in things with the business climate, government, the economy So for me, that was important because I wanted to make sure ev now I was out of government, I was still able to give back, s to contribute, still able to rea a pulse on what was going on in which helps business at Indelibl whether it's our I.T.

work, our health care work, transportation, or even our emer management services.

To me, that really allows me to stay pl I think it's really interesting.

You've been involved in all thes organizations and projects in yo So I think what I'm just trying up to is do you have an example of an org or a project that you know you're particularly proud of the impact that it's caused?

I would say 2.

2?

Okay.

So for the UF students who are going to hear this, the one thing that I did in undergra was preview staff.

Preview staff opened so many doo because I made friends a whole s I got to know all the incoming f and that allowed my network to grow, but also friendships made throug One of my best friends I met through Preview Staff.

He was my Preview student named Fraendy Clervaud.

He's now an anchorman in Columbia, South Carolina.

But he started right here in thi doing interviews.

And now that he's on TV, I say I because I was a Preview staffer, and that really made a huge diff Number two, I would say the Boys Club of America.

I'm on the board for the Central Boys and Girls Club of America.

And I was a club kid.

I went to the Boys and Girls Clu in Pine Hills of Orlando, and that really allowed me to have an experience from frien and peers from all around the ci but also to really be empowered in the summertime.

Because when you're a kid and you're at home by yourself, by the summertime, bad stuff can But when you are in an environme that's controlled, thats positive as with other youth, that really opened doors So when I turned 40 years old, I had my 40th birthday party at the Boys and Girls Club as a to raise money for the Boys and Girls Clubs because I was a product of that and I wanted to make sure that I was able to give back.

I think, you know, you clearly s as an example of the importance of community, of asking why not and of just constantly raising t So do you have any advice for a like me just starting out my col career and professional journey?

One word of advice: I had a class at UF called Modern Jewish And reason why I say this becaus as someone who was raised Christ my brothers are Christian minist I wanted to learn other faiths.

In that class, Modern Jewish Tho and the Talmud, we were taught in the class.

It was a scripture said who was a wise man?

He who learned it from all men.

So the idea was to become more w you'd have to learn from more pe You're not going to know everyth Everybody has a different perspe different background, different They grew up differently.

So when you learn from everybody that can make you wiser.

I really want to encourage the i really just asking the question of somebody who is who was diffe somebody who came from a different background.

And that can really open doors f that could even change your life be a national media figure like you will one day.

And I think that network, that f those experiences allow you to see somebody else's that can really empower you.

Well, thank you very much for your insight, Jamal.

I think, me personally, I've lea just about constantly being curi As a freshman, it can be scary to go out there and just get your feet wet and just not be afraid to fail.

I think you've really shown, especially at the college level, okay to fail and to really start harnessing those skills.

So I really appreciate that.

And thank you to our viewers for joining us.

Until next time, goodnight.

Go Gators!

Go Gators!