Governor’s office appoints new deputy communications director, Dept. of Ed. communications director

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office appointed Kayla McLaughlin as a new deputy communications director on Monday.

Sydney Booker, who previously held a deputy communications director position for the the governor’s office, was moved to the Florida Department of Education to fill their communications director role.

The office reported that McLaughlin most recently served as director of communications at the Florida Department of Corrections. Before that, she was the deputy director of communications at the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the strategic communications manager at the Florida Department of Transportation.

She also served as the new media manager for the Florida House of Representatives.

McLaughlin began her career as the external communications manager for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and later as the press secretary for the Florida Department of Corrections.

She currently holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida State University, where she’s also completing her Master’s in Applied American Politics and Policy.

Booker has served as the governor’s deputy communications director since July 2023. She was previously the office’s communications specialist.

Before her work experience, Booker received a Bachelor’s degree in media communications at Florida State University and a Master’s degree in Media and Strategic Communications at George Washington University.