On this episode of the Babcock Ranch Podcast, Syd Kitson welcomes former Florida State Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto, who represented Southwest Florida for a decade, served as Senate Majority Leader, and has played a direct role in bringing state funding and support to some of Babcock Ranch’s most important projects.

They trace her path from a young council member in Wellington to the State Senate, and the legislation she’s most proud of, including the Cancer Treatment Fairness Act, a life insurance bill that led to unclaimed policy payouts and was featured on 60 Minutes, and a law banning child marriage in Florida.

They walk through the projects her advocacy helped make possible at Babcock Ranch: funding for the All Abilities Park, the ICC 500-rated public storm shelter that housed thousands of residents during Hurricane Milton, a new Category 5-rated shelter now being built as part of the community’s autism center and Family Initiative, and a $32 million Wildlife Center opening next summer, tied to the broader Florida Wildlife Corridor that Babcock Ranch helped complete.

They close on what’s next, a nearly two-mile boardwalk connecting Midtown and Easttown, a planned senior center, and a new Art in Public Places initiative, and why Lizbeth says the greatest joy of her work now is helping good ideas go further than people initially imagined.