Sparker’s Soapbox is a nonpartisan civic information resource for Collier County voters. The Sparker’s Soapbox platform includes Sparker’s Digest, a weekly newsletter about state and local government; Sparker’s Research, in-depth looks at candidates and ballot issues; and Sparker’s Civics, introductory guides to Florida and Collier civics.
ABOUT SANDY PARKER
After moving to Florida from New Jersey in 2003, I rediscovered a long-dormant interest in government and politics. My first vote as a Floridian was in the presidential election that followed Bush v. Gore. All eyes were on Florida’s elections then, and it has remained so ever since.
I spent the next several years learning about our local and state governments as an active member of the League of Women Voters of Collier County, and in 2008, I led a statewide project to revise Our Florida Government, which served at the time as a “compact and factual presentation of the basic structure and operation of Florida government” published by the Florida LWV. I also volunteered on political campaigns.
In 2010, I began writing Sparker’s Soapbox as a way to share my ongoing research to become a more informed voter. I wrote at the time, “… the outcome of the upcoming elections … will set the direction of our future in irreversible ways that we can’t even begin to imagine.”
That belief continues to motivate me today, and I am passionate in my conviction that the more informed voters are, the better our government will be.
In addition to writing Sparker’s Soapbox, I frequently make presentations about state and local government to community groups, continuing care retirement communities, and adult education programs. I am also an active member of the League of Women Voters, the Press Club of Southwest Florida, and the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.
Before retirement, I held executive positions in accounting, investor relations, and corporate finance, retiring as Vice President – Treasury and Investor Relations with the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. I received a BA with highest honors and honors in American Studies from Douglass College at Rutgers University, where I was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and I have an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.