Charlette Roman, Big Cypress Basin Board Chair
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Charlette Roman was appointed to the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board by Governor Ron DeSantis in February of 2019 to serve Lee, Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, Osceola, Okeechobee, Polk, Highlands, and Orange counties.
Roman is also the current Chair of the Big Cypress Basin Board.
A retired U. S. Army officer with 26 years of military service, Roman enlisted in the Army in 1973 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1976. She served as Commander of an Airborne Signal Battalion at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, a Garrison Commander in Georgia and rose to the rank of Colonel before retiring in 2001. During her military service, Roman also worked as a U.S. Army Inspector General and was one of the first U.S. military personnel present to witness East Germans crossing the Freedom Bridge in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
After retirement, Roman moved to Marco Island in Collier County and became involved in public service locally, including serving on the Collier Citizens Council, Collier County Planning Commission, Marco Island Planning Board and Marco Island Civic Association Board of Directors. She was elected to the Marco Island City Council in 2016. Her public service also includes work safeguarding the tax dollars of citizens while serving on the Marco Island Taxpayers Association Board of Directors.
Roman has a passion for conservation causes and volunteered more than 1,000 hours with Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. She also served as the President of The Friends of Tigertail Beach, a nonprofit conservation organization and was a founding Board Member of the Gulf Coast Orchid Alliance. She is a certified Florida Master Naturalist and in recognition of her educational and stewardship efforts, Roman received the prestigious Collier County Audubon Society Fellowship in 2009, now Audubon of the Western Everglades. In 2022, she was honored with the Laverne Norris Gaynor Environmental Champion Award by the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Board of Directors for her years of service in protecting the coastal environment. In 2024, Roman was awarded the Public Service Award at the annual Everglades Coalition Conference. The Public Service Award is given to an outstanding elected, appointed or agency professional who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to advance Everglades restoration. Roman won the award for her work to protect, restore and safeguard America’s Everglades.
Roman grew up in Akron, Ohio and currently lives on Marco Island.
Roman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Loyola University in New Orleans and a Master’s degree in Business Management from Webster University. She is also a U.S. Army War College Graduate.
Current Term: May 2021 – March 2025
Contact Address:
SFWMD Headquarters
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Phone: (561) 682-6262
Big Cypress Basin Service Center
2660 North Horseshoe Drive, Suite 101A
Naples, FL 34104
Phone: (239) 263-7615
Email: croman@sfwmd.gov
Areas Represented: Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry, Highlands, Glades, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola and Polk counties
Appointed By: Governor Ron DeSantis
Original Appointment: February 2019
Education:
- B.A. Communications – Loyola University
- M.A. Business Management - Webster University
- U.S. Army War College
Occupation: Retired Colonel, U.S. Army
Professional, Business and Service Affiliations:
• Council Member, Marco Island City Council
• Member, Collier Citizens Council
• Founding Board Member, Gulf Coast Orchid Alliance
Past Affiliations:
• Commissioner, Collier County Planning Commission-At-Large Environmental Seat
• Chair and Board Member, Marco Island Planning Board
• Member Board of Directors, Marco Island Civic Association
• Member Board of Directors, Marco Island Taxpayers Association
• 1000-hour Volunteer, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
• President, The Friends of Tigertail Beach
• STEM Coordinator & Environmental Issues Chair, Marco Island AAUW Chapter
• Volunteer, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission