Q&A with Yolanda Cash Jackson

WHO: Yolanda Cash Jackson

WHAT SHE DOES: State lobbying at Becker & Poliakoff. Her clients include AT&T, safety net hospitals, red light cameras, Dade and Broward school districts and 12 municipalities. They also have a Washington, D.C., practice that represents Univision and Fox Corp. “We’re a full-service law firm with a specialization in government relations,” she says.

LOBBYING ACHIEVEMENTS:  This year, they lobbied and secured $20M in recurring funds for private historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Florida.

Successful 30-year lobbyist Yolanda Cash Jackson (BSJ ’80, JD ’90) recently inspired UF law alumni to launch a scholarship drive. She hopes the effort will add more diversity to the legal profession.

This summer, more than 30 years after Yolanda Cash Jackson (BSJ ‘80, JD ’90) turned one of her biggest disappointments into a career change that allowed her to fulfill her destiny, she stood before UF graduates and explained how sometimes “setbacks are setups.”

Today, the Gator, attorney and successful lobbyist encourages all young people to stand up for themselves and seize opportunities that will help them fulfill their destinies as well. She inspired her fellow UF law alumni to help her fund a scholarship for graduates of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in an effort to bring more diversity to the legal profession. Jackson and two other Black UF law alumni, Paul Perkins (JD ’91) and Greg Francis (BA ’91, JD ’94), both of Orlando, launched the scholarship with a $100,000 investment. “When we went to UF, we were breaking barriers,” she says. “Now, it’s time for us to help the next generation.”

In the few months since then, UF alumni have contributed more than $1.2 million. Their goal is $2 million, which would support 10 law students each year.