Fifteenth Annual Conference with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
September 8, 2025

Announcing the 2025 Annual Conference Keynote Speaker: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ’01

The Buckley Institute is excited to announce that the keynote speaker for the 2025 Annual Conference is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ’01!

Join us in New Haven on Friday, November 14, for a day of top–tier speakers, dynamic discussion, and compelling debate, then cap it all off with an address from and fireside chat with one of the country’s leading governors. Considering the conference’s focus on the William F. Buckley, Jr. centennial and the future of the conservative movement, Governor DeSantis’ insight will be particularly welcome.

Governor Ron DeSantis ’01

Fifteenth Annual Conference Keynote Speaker Ron DeSantis

A native Floridian with blue-collar roots, Governor DeSantis grew up in Dunedin and worked his way through Yale University, where he was the captain of the varsity baseball team, and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he earned a commission in the U.S. Navy as a JAG officer. He deployed to Iraq in support of the SEAL mission in Fallujah, Ramadi, and the rest of the Al Anbar province.

In 2018, Ron DeSantis was elected the 46th Governor of Florida. As Governor, he has led across a wide range of issues by successfully navigating Florida through the COVID pandemic, protecting Floridians from the harmful impacts of illegal immigration, expanding school choice, promoting public safety (with a record 50-year crime low in the state), keeping Florida’s economy strong, ensuring road improvement projects are fully funded and ahead of schedule, and making historic investments in environmental conservation and stewardship.

Thanks to the Governor’s efforts, Florida ranks #1 for economy (among all 50 states); for education (two out of the last three years); for higher education (ten years in a row); for attracting and developing a talented workforce; for parental empowerment and educational freedom; for tourism and net in-migration; and for law enforcement recruiting and support.

Governor DeSantis is married to Casey DeSantis, an Emmy Award-winning television anchor. Together, they’re the proud parents of their daughters, Madison and Mamie, and their son, Mason.