Florida TaxWatch adds COO, economist, research fellow, event marketer

Florida TaxWatch is bulking up its leadership and research bench.

The independent, nonpartisan government watchdog just announced four hires as former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp begins his tenure as President and CEO. The hires add operational, economic modeling and event-planning capacity to the Tallahassee organization.

Ray Monteleone, President of Paladin Global Partners and a longtime Florida TaxWatch Board member, will serve as Chief Operating Officer.

The group also hired Garrett Gouveia as a research economist, named Florida State University graduate student Rylan Clark as a Florida TaxWatch Research Fellow, and brought on Samantha Castaline, who previously worked for the organization as a consultant, as a full-time event marketing specialist.

Kottkamp said in a statement that Monteleone’s experience will help Florida TaxWatch “continue to lead the way with timely, accurate and insightful research” on issues affecting Florida.

“His depth and breadth of experience will be a tremendous asset to our organization as we continue to lead the way with timely, accurate and insightful research into issues impacting the nation’s third largest state,” he said.

Kottkamp also pointed to the research additions as a boost to Florida TaxWatch’s data-driven work, saying Gouveia will help analyze and expand the group’s data and that Clark will support its research output.

Castaline’s move into a full-time role, Kottkamp continued, positions the organization well in growing its events footprint and statewide initiatives.

He also teased more staffing announcements as Florida TaxWatch aims to expand its reach.

“Stay tuned,” he said.

Monteleone is a CPA and consulting executive whose background includes strategic management, mergers and acquisitions, compensation consulting and executive mentoring, with clients spanning health care, technology, manufacturing, education, financial institutions and nonprofits.

His civic and professional involvement includes Leadership Florida, multiple advisory and audit roles, and past leadership in Broward County education and civic organizations.

Gouveia, from West Palm Beach, is tasked with building economic models and contributing research on forces shaping Florida’s economy. A Florida State University graduate, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in applied economics and has worked with tools including Python, SAS, Power BI and SQL.

His prior research includes work on education economics and environmental policy, including an award-winning master’s project examining the economic fallout from the oyster industry collapse in Apalachicola.

Castaline, a communications specialist and former event manager for cannabis giant Trulieve, will manage Florida TaxWatch’s events calendar and help develop new statewide initiatives.