A loving family man and dedicated public servant, Joe Garcia has called South Florida his home his entire life. In 1963, Joe was born to Joe Sr. and Carmen Garcia at Mount Sinai Hospital. Like many exiles that came to this country seeking freedom and opportunity, Joe’s parents worked hard to get ahead. With hard work and savings, Joe’s parents were able to start a small business and helped put him and his brothers through school.

In 1988, Joe enrolled at UM Law, where he met his wife, Aileen, on their first day of school. Aileen presently serves as the general counsel for the University of Miami. Joe, Aileen and their daughter Gaby are proud to call South Florida their home.

Joe’s record of public service dates back over two decades. In 1993, Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed Garcia to the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), the state agency that regulates utilities. Serving under both Democratic and Republican governors, Joe made Florida’s families his top priority and helped usher in the single largest energy rate cut in Florida’s history, which meant lower monthly electric bills for Florida’s families in the 1990’s. Garcia left the PSC in 2000 and was named Executive Director of the Cuban American National Foundation where he became one of the country’s leading advocates for human rights in Cuba and Latin America. In 2008, Joe Garcia came within a single-digit margin of defeating incumbent Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart. Proving to be a prolific fund-raiser, Garcia raised $1.8 million. The following year, Garcia was named as the Director of the Office of Economy Impact in the Department of Energy.