Meet Lori Berman

Lori is a lifelong and loyal Democrat who has fought for progressive values over her seven years in the Florida House. She serves as the Democratic Floor Leader and was one of only a handful of legislators to score 100% on the “People First Report Card” measuring legislative votes that put the interest of people over the powerful. She has a strong record of standing up for a woman’s right to choose, pushing for commonsense gun violence prevention measures, advocating for traditional public schools, expanding access to high quality healthcare, and fighting for seniors.

Lori, a wife, mother, and breast cancer survivor, has been a leader in fighting for women’s rights in Tallahassee. Lori passed legislation banning employers from discriminating on the basis of pregnancy and introduced a bill to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work. She has also led the charge for Florida to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution.

Lori has been effective at achieving results in the Legislature. She passed a constitutional amendment that was approved by Florida voters to make solar energy more affordable and create green energy jobs. She also successfully sponsored legislation to help create the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches for spring training for the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.

Lori has been a life-long resident of Florida, growing up in Plantation and graduating from Nova High School. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Tufts University and received her law degree from the National Law Center at George Washington University. She also earned an LLM in Estate Planning from the University of Miami.

Lori has a long record of community service and has been actively working with many educational and social service programs. In high school, Lori became interested in the political process when she worked on the campaign of Charlie Friedman for Congress. Lori continued her interest and became actively involved in Palm Beach County politics during Robert Wexler’s first campaign for Congress, joining his team as a Legislative Aide during his first term. In 2010, she was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and has served for 7 years.

Lori has served as the Chairperson of the Palm Beach County Delegation, Chair of the Women’s Caucus, as well as a variety of leadership roles in the Democratic Caucus. Throughout her tenure in the Florida House of Representatives, Lori has tirelessly advocated to ensure all Floridians have adequate health care, that our educational system is properly funded, that women’s rights are protected, and that Florida’s number one priority remains economic prosperity for its citizens. From 2011 – 2016, she was named a Middle Class Champion by Progress Florida, Florida Watch Action, and America Votes. In her spare time, Lori enjoys playing tennis, skiing, hiking, traveling, and reading.

Lori and Jeff Ganeles have been married for over 34 years and have two children, Caryn and Steven.