Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints New Members to Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

DeSantis Names Three New Faces to Central Florida’s Tourism Oversight Board

Florida’s Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), the improvement district in which the Walt Disney World Resort resides, is on the brink of another shake-up. Governor Ron DeSantis has tapped Alexis Yarbrough, John Gilbert, and Scott Workman to join the board that oversees the area around Walt Disney World. All three appointments require Florida Senate approval, and Yarbrough has been chosen to serve as chair once confirmed.

This announcement arrives as two current board members, Ron Peri and Bridget Ziegler, near the end of their terms in February 2025. Depending on whether they’re reappointed, their seats may soon go to the new nominees, who would serve through 2027.

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Related: Disney Creates New Web Page Celebrating the Summer of 2025 at Hollywood Studios

Meet the Appointees

Alexis Yarbrough
Named as chair (pending confirmation), Yarbrough has previously led the Broward College District Board of Trustees and been part of the Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission. With a legal background — a bachelor’s from the University of Miami and a law degree from Nova Southeastern University — she’s poised to steer the board through its next chapter.

John Gilbert
Gilbert’s real estate roots run deep. As the Executive Managing Director at Stream Realty Partners, he’s garnered accolades from commercial real estate organizations for his brokerage work in the Orlando market. A Florida State University alum, Gilbert brings both an insider’s view of the Orlando property scene and a knack for business strategy.

Scott Workman
Owner of Workman Transportation and Workman Travel, Workman has over two decades of hands-on experience in Orlando’s travel and tourism industry. An alumnus of the University of Iowa, he’s built a career in transportation, a key element of Central Florida’s tourism infrastructure.

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Shifting the Power Balance

Once in place, the trio would join the existing Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board lineup of Charbel Barakat, Brian Aungst, Jr., Ron Peri, and Bridget Ziegler. With the confirmed addition of Yarbrough, Gilbert, and Workman, the board’s membership would tilt further toward DeSantis appointees. The possibility of Peri or Ziegler cycling out in 2025 amplifies this shift, underscoring the governor’s ongoing campaign to shape the district’s leadership.

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A Quick Look at How We Got Here

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The formation of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District stems from a political clash that began in 2022. Previously, the Reedy Creek Improvement District granted Disney significant control over land use, infrastructure, and services on its massive Florida property. But tensions rose after Disney publicly opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education legislation. In response, Governor DeSantis and state lawmakers dismantled Reedy Creek, replacing it in early 2023 with the CFTOD through the passage of House Bill 9-B. The new structure greatly curbed Disney’s autonomy and handed the governor the authority to appoint all board members, transforming a 50-plus-year status quo.

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Eyes on the Future

All eyes are now on the Florida Senate to see if the newest appointees will sail through their confirmation process. If approved, these three newcomers will play a significant role in guiding the district’s approach to tourism, development, and services in the theme-park heartland of the Sunshine State. Whether this will prompt any further clashes with Disney remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the CFTOD continues to evolve, and these appointments mark a fresh chapter in its ever-changing story.