Honorable Alan Orantes Forst

Chairman Forst (left) with his former boss, Justice Clarence Thomas.

Chairman Alan Orantes Forst is the chief executive and chief administrative officer of the Commission. Governor Jeb Bush appointed Chairman Forst to the position of Chairman of the Appeals Commission in July 2001 and reappointed him in August 2005 for a second four-year term. Chairman Forst was given a third appointment by Governor Charlie Crist in June 2009. All three appointments were confirmed by the Florida Senate.

Before his appointment, Chairman Forst was an associate and partner at Crary, Buchanan, Bowdish, Bovie, Beres, Roby, Negron & Thomas, with offices in Stuart and Port St. Lucie, Florida. Prior to joining Crary, Buchanan, Chairman Forst spent over two decades in Washington, D.C. A graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America, he served under Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton in front office positions at the Departments of Justice and Labor (special assistant to the Administrators of OFCCP and the Wage and Hour Division), as counsel to the Vice Chair/Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and as special assistant/counsel to Chairman Clarence Thomas at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He also worked as an employment law litigator at the Department of Commerce. Earlier in his career, Chairman Forst served as an intern on the staffs of Senators S.I. Hayakawa and Richard Stone, authored a newsletter for the National Legal Center for the Public Interest, served in the front offices of the Commission on Civil Rights and the Legal Services Corporation, and taught a class in employment law at the Northern Virginia Law School. And coached a lot of youth soccer teams.

Chairman Forst was President of the Martin County Bar Association in 2007-08 (officer 2004-09) and Chair of the Florida Bar’s Labor and Employment Law Section in 2008-09 (officer 2002-10). He is also a Vice President of the Federalist Society's Labor and Employment Law Practice Section (2000-present) and the Society’s Tallahassee chapter (2001-present).

Honorable Thomas D. Epsky

Prior to his original appointment as commissioner by Governor Bush, Commissioner Epsky was the Managing Partner and Principal Consultant in a human resource consulting practice. He began his career in Human Resources as a trainer in Macy’s department store and later worked at Stony Brook University on Long Island. He is an adjunct faculty member at Indian River State College and has lectured at the College of the Bahamas.

Commissioner Epsky holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Child-care and Family Studies and a Master’s degree in Human Resource Development. In 1994 he received the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification.

In 1998 Commissioner Epsky was selected by two Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Chapters in Florida as “Professional of the Year” for his work in Human Resources and in the community. He is a past president of the HR Martin County human resource association and served as an executive officer on the HR Florida State Council. He has also served as chairman of the Florida State Health and Human Services Board under Governors Lawton Chiles and Jeb Bush and as chairman of the City of Port St. Lucie Code Enforcement Board. Mr. Epsky is active in many charitable organizations including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, the American Heart Association, Hospice, as well as serving on the Governor Charlie Crist’s Council for Physical Fitness. He is a past chair for the United Way of St. Lucie County Board of Directors. Currently, Commissioner Epsky is a member of the United Way of Florida Board of Governors.

Commissioner Epsky has personally pledged to maintain the highest ethical standards and guarantee the public trust in all deliberations and actions as commissioner.

Honorable Dr. Joseph D. Finnegan

Dr. Joseph D. Finnegan of Tallahassee is a retired manager with more than 42 years of experience in both the private and public sectors and has been pastor of All Saints Catholic Community since 2006.

In 2005, Mr. Finnegan managed Florida’s voter registration services for the Florida Department of State. Prior to that, he was director of market investigation for the Office of Insurance Regulation within the Florida Department of Financial Services from 2001 to 2005, and he was manager of human resources and risk management for the St. Lucie Board of County Commissioners from 1998 to 2001.

Mr. Finnegan was executive director of the Healthy Start Coalition of Southwest Florida Inc. from 1995 to 1998. From 1987 to 1995, he was principal and managing partner of the Management International Group and vice president of the Northeastern Eye Institute of Scranton, Pennsylvania, from 1983 to 1987. Previously, he was a manager for General Electric Capital from 1978 to 1983, for Gilbert Associates from 1974 to 1978, for Communications Satellite Corporation from 1969 to 1974, and for Aetna Life and Casualty Company from 1962 to 1969. Mr. Finnegan received a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s Seminary and University, a master’s degree from George Washington University and Doctors of Ministry and Divinity from AGAPE Seminary. He succeeds Dr. John L. Adams and is appointed for a term beginning April 17, 2012, and ending June 30, 2015.

The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

An equal opportunity employer/program.  Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.
All voice telephone numbers on this website may be reached by persons using TTY/TDD equipment via the Florida Relay Service at 711.
You have selected a link to a website that is outside of the floridajobs.org domain. Control of the content of this website belongs to the website's owner and not to the Department of Economic Opportunity.
OK
 
Cancel