03/19/2024
Admiration
Lynn Cathryn Walters
Realign and Redefine
March is . To celebrate, we proudly highlight City of Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert, whose personal journey inspires us to never give up on our dreams and continue persevering in the face of obstacles or discouragement. "To me, the important part of the story is the journey," she shares, "the ups and downs through the journey, but still moving towards the goal."
Liz grew up in Worden, Illinois, a small town about an hour east of St. Louis. Her father was a long-distance truck driver, and her mother stayed home to raise her and her younger siblings. "In high school, I wanted to be a lawyer," she says. "I knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn't have any clue how to do that or what I had to do. My parents hadn't gone to college - I was the oldest of 8, so they couldn't afford college. Then I got married and started working and had a baby right away."
Working in banking, Liz took any opportunity to advance her education. "Through the bank, they offered classes in banking that we could take at night that they would pay for. So, I took advantage of those."
In the fall of 1974, Liz's husband—who also worked in banking—was offered a job in Sarasota. She moved here with him and, due to a potential conflict of interest, had to find a new career path. "I managed to get a job in the Clerk of Courts office in the small claims court, and I did not know the difference between a plaintiff and a defendant. But within six months, I was the supervisor of the Department."
The experience reawakened her interest in working in the legal realm. "That's when I knew I really loved the law. [Becoming a lawyer] wasn't anything I thought I could aspire to, but I thought I could at least become a legal assistant - which were brand new at the time."
A local college was starting a new program for legal assistants, so Liz signed up. Taking just a few classes at a time while still working full-time, she worked through the program until relocating to the Tampa area. "I found out that most of my legal assistant credits didn't transfer, so I kind of had to start all over," she laments. Again sidelining her dreams of working in law, she worked toward a degree in Mass Communications and graduated summa cm laude in 1995 from the University of South Florida at the age of 46.
Wanting to get more involved in her community, Liz started volunteering. She was elected to serve on Tampa's Architectural Review Commission. "I was the citizen member—I didn't know about architecture or historic preservation, but I went to EVERY National Trust for Historic Preservation that I could," she shares. That's when I learned about Smart Growth, Andrés Duany and the New Urbanism Movement, historic preservation, and best practices for transportation. It was very eye-opening."
With a taste for local Government, Liz decided to run for office in Tampa. She lost - three times - but never gave up on her passions. "For all my campaigns, I really wanted to be able to work on implementing New Urbanism and Smart Growth principles while making sure we retain our historic structures. I saw the benefit of creating historic districts and what that does for a City."
Liz moved back to Sarasota in 2002 and was appointed to the City of Sarasota Human Relations Board and the City's General Personnel/Civil Service Board. In 2003, at age 54, Liz finally realized her dream of attending law school at Stetson University College of Law. "I took great delight in being there. I loved it," she says. She graduated and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2006. She has served as a family law attorney ever since.
"I would encourage anybody to pursue their dreams—it doesn't matter how old you are. "Even though I knew it was late in my life, and I would be a lot older than most attorneys starting their practices, I didn't care because I said, 'I'm going to be that age whether I get my law degree, or I don't.'"
On May 12, 2015, Liz realized another dream. After running her fourth election campaign, she was elected to the Sarasota City Commission, representing District 2.
Now in her second term as Mayor of the City of Sarasota, Mayor Alpert is a shining example of passion, perseverance, and persistence. "Being here, in Sarasota, and doing this work, is the perfect place for my passions and my skills to come together to benefit the community."
