Mr. Rackleff graduated with both a BA and MA in American and European History from FSU. He served in the US Navy between 1963 and 1967, retiring as a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Intelligence Reserve. He has worked as a speechwriter for both public and private entities, including for the U.S. Department of Energy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department, Time Incorporated, and both the Carter and Obama administrations. He served as a Leon County Commissioner from 1998 to 2010, as the Communications Consultant for the National Association of Professional Environmentalists in 2011, currently serves as the President of the Pipeline Safety Trust, and was a founder of the Pipeline Safety Reform Coalition. He has also worked as a Communications Director for an environmental organization in Uganda.