Rachel Plakon is a lifelong conservative and an appointee of Governor DeSantis. She will stand with our Governor, and is the BOLD Republican leader we need.

Today she owns a real estate investment company and brokerage firm, but Rachel's entrepreneurial spirit and servant’s heart was sparked long ago. Throughout her life, Rachel's family was always helping those in need. She never remembers them turning anyone away who asked for help. Her grandfather and father both served in the military. Inspired by her family, Rachel's public service started early in life. At the age of just 11, she helped found a youth drug prevention program that was endorsed by the Florida Sheriffs Association and earned national recognition.

After graduating in 2001 with honors from Oral Roberts University, where she was President of the College Republicans, Rachel returned to her native Florida to work with the Governor's child mentoring initiative.

Rachel started her first business in 2004 flipping houses. She went from cleaning and fixing toilets and drywall to building a successful company. In 2016, while still running her business, Rachel began working as a Land Specialist with one of Central Florida’s top commercial real estate brokerages - NAI Realvest. The Orlando-Sanford International Airport was among her major clients. She also continued her service as an active volunteer in civic and charitable causes.

A former vice chair of a local Planning and Zoning Board, Rachel was tapped by successive House Speakers to serve on the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. In that role, she helps makes recommendations to the Governor and legislature about state issues affecting women. In 2019, when Governor DeSantis was looking for someone to appoint to a statewide commission on the 19th Amendment to US Constitution, Governor DeSantis chose Rachel Plakon.

While local residents struggled to cope with the pandemic and resulting shutdown, Rachel helped deliver life-saving medicine and groceries to our most needy neighbors. In September 2020, she also led a heralded relief effort from Seminole County to her hometown of Bonifay after Hurricane Sally devastated the Panhandle region.

Rachel is the daughter of a U.S. Army National Guard veteran, and both parents are second-generation timber farmers. She has served on the Board of Directors of Business Force, is a Life Member of the NRA, and holds a Corporate M.B.A. from Florida International University.

Married to widower Scott Plakon since 2019, she became part of a family that includes six children and four grandchildren.