A fifth-generation Floridian, Glenda Hood has dedicated her life to the principles of responsible civic leadership. Growing up in the Lake Conway area, she attended Pine Castle Elementary and graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1968.
After two years at the all-women Queens College in Charlotte, NC, she spent a year abroad majoring in Spanish at the University of Valencia, Spain. However, the lure of home brought her back to Central Florida, where she graduated from Rollins College.
Hood became an OCPS ADDitions volunteer, teaching English as a second language to students at Lake Como Elementary several days a week. Dedicated to learning more about her community, she became the first non-businessperson allowed to participate in Leadership Orlando. Hood was appointed to the Municipal Planning Board by Mayor Carl Langford, and in 1982, ran for city commission, unseating a 16-year incumbent. During her third term, she became the first woman (and youngest ever) elected as Mayor of Orlando.
During her three terms as mayor (1993-2003), the city’s geographic area grew by more than 50 percent; Orlando became positioned as a high-tech center and competitive international market; and the arts were elevated to a civic priority and economic driver. She also established unprecedented partnerships in education.
Hood also served as Florida’s Secretary of State, where she was instrumental in crafting the state’s Strategic Plan for Economic Development, and it’s 10-year Cultural Strategic Plan, as well as leading international business initiatives in Latin America and Asia. She was widely credited for overseeing the seamless 2004 election cycle and for assisting counties in election preparation during recovery efforts after hurricanes Charley, Francis and Jean.
Today, Hood is the founding partner of triSect, LLC, a strategic consulting firm focused on civic innovation serving the business, government and independent sectors. She and and her husband Charles have been married for 46 years and are the proud parents of three married children and 11 grandchildren.
