Inauguration Celebration Brunch

First elected by the people of Southwest Florida to Congress in 2020, Byron Donalds represents Florida's 19th Congressional District along Florida's Gulf Coast.

In the 118th Congress, Congressman Donalds is proud to serve as a member on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and House Financial Services Committee in the 118th Congress.  Prior to becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Byron worked in the finance industry before embarking in public service with two terms in the Florida House of Representatives where he championed education reform and school choice, criminal justice reform, and more.

Byron and his wife, Erika, live in Naples, FL with their three boys, Damon, Darin, and Mason.

Education entrepreneur Erika Donalds is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of OptimaEd and The Optima Foundation. She is a finance professional with a passion for education and has offered her expertise in business and policy to help further the expansion of high-quality school choice options and to improve accountability and governance in Florida’s public schools.

Erika is a former elected member of the Collier County School Board and now serves as a visiting fellow for The Heritage Foundation Center for Education Policy. She previously sat on Florida’s 2017-2018 Constitution Revision Commission, Governor DeSantis’ Advisory Committee on Education and Workforce Development, and the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees. She is on advisory boards for Heritage Foundation, Classical Learning, Moms for Liberty, and the Independent Women’s Forum Education Freedom Center.

Prior to launching OptimaEd, Erika spent 20 years in the financial services industry. She was Chief Financial Officer/Chief Compliance Officer and Partner at a multi-billion-dollar investment management firm, responsible for finance, compliance, and operations, in addition to serving on the Management Committee.

Erika holds a BS in Accounting from Florida State University and a Master of Accountancy from Florida Atlantic University, where she is a Distinguished Alumni Honoree. She is a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Erika and her husband Byron have lived in Naples since 2002 and have three sons – Damon, Darin, & Mason.

*Erika Donalds is a member of the Moms for Liberty Advisory Board

Winsome Earle-Sears, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, immigrated to the United States at the age of six. She is proud to have served in the United States Marine Corps.

In addition to her various appointments, she has served as the Vice President of the Virginia State Board of Education; and as a presidential appointee to the US Census Bureau, as co-chair of the African American Committee; and the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Winsome was first elected in 2002 to a majority Black House of Delegates district, a first for a Republican in Virginia since 1865.

She is the first female Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the first Black female elected to statewide office. As Lieutenant Governor, Winsome Earle-Sears presides over the Senate when they are in session.

A former program manager for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and VISTA volunteer, Winsome is a trained electrician and successful businesswoman. However, Winsome is most proud of her community work leading a men’s prison ministry and as director of a women’s homeless shelter.

She holds a B.A. in English with a minor in Economics, and an M.A. in Organizational Leadership, with a concentration in Government. Winsome and her husband, Terence, have two daughters Katia and Janel, in addition to DeJon, and granddaughters Victoria and Faith, who are now looking into the face of God.

Katharine Cornell Gorka is chair of the Fairfax County GOP and co-author of the book NextGen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It (Encounter Books, 2024).

In September 2016 Katharine joined the Trump Transition Team and served as in the Department of Homeland Security (2017-2020).  From 2020 to 2022 she served as Director for Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation, working with parents around the country to regain control over their children’s education.

She cohosts the podcast Happy Women on the Salem Media Network.

Follow her on Facebook @KatharineGorka

Twitter @GorkaKatie

On her website: www.KatieGorka.com

Adelyn Begg is a classically trained singer and ballet dancer who has performed with Loudoun Lyric Opera, CrossRoads Dance Theater, NextStop Theatre Company, The Pickwick Players, and other professional companies and community theater groups. She is a 10th grader at Holy Family Academy in Manassas, Virginia, where her favorite class is Latin. Her greatest love is classical singing, which she studies under Amanda Zoe Vest and Chelsea Friedlander.

Matthew Downey is a 10 th grader at The Heights School in Potomac, MD. Matthew is trained
in both classical and jazz piano. At The Heights, he plays piano in the Jazz Band, trombone in
the Wind Ensemble, and sings bass in the Men’s Concert Choir & student led Barbershop
Quartet. He recently played the part of The Beast in Oakcrest School’s production of Beauty
and the Beast. Matthew has a passion for theology and philosophy. He loves serving weekly
as a senior altar server & volunteering as a musician at church.