As the year draws to a close, Florida Trend Magazine traditionally announces its coveted “Floridian of the Year.” This year, the publication also revisited its 2022 honoree, Becker shareholder Yolanda Cash Jackson, to highlight her continued accomplishments.
Reflecting on 2024, Jackson described it as a year of “unexpected pleasures,” including a meaningful opportunity to serve as a professor at her alma mater, the University of Florida. In an intensive one-week course on lobbying, she taught UF law students about the nuances of the field—who hires lobbyists, navigating the committee process, and tailoring strategies to meet clients’ needs effectively.
A standout moment of the year was witnessing the inaugural class of the John Lewis/HBCU Pathway to Law Scholars Program graduate from UF’s Levin College of Law. Jackson played a pivotal role in the program’s creation, which provides a pathway for students from historically Black colleges and universities to pursue legal careers. With more scholars set to graduate in the coming years, the program’s impact continues to grow.
“I’m just doing what God would have me do,” she tells Florida Trend. “We are each given an assignment—some big assignments and some small assignments. To have the ability to hear what my assignment is, that I think God has given me when he created this little girl from Liberty City… I think that’s what gives me the most satisfaction.”
“I’m just grateful that I had ears to hear it.”
Read the full article, “Unexpected Pleasures,” in Florida Trend here.