Bob Rackleff FSU History Alumnus

Mr. Rackleff graduated with both a BA and MA in American and European History and completed all requirements but a dissertation for a PhD at FSU. He served in the U.S. Navy 1961-1983, mostly as a reservist, retiring as a Lieutenant Commander intelligence officer. After serving as executive director of the Florida Commission on Human Relations, in 1974 he began a lifelong writing career in Washington DC that included speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter. In 1981, he transitioned to corporate speechwriting, beginning at Time Inc., then, as consultant, clients that included several Fortune 100 corporations. He was a Leon County Commissioner 1998-2010. Following that, he lived and worked in Kampala as communications consultant for a Ugandan environmental organization. He then worked in the Obama administration 2012-2017 as a Cabinet speechwriter, returning to Tallahassee to run unsuccessfully for Congress in 2018. He now helps lead the Big Bend Voting Rights Project, registering minority citizens to vote.