Verdell Hawkins

• Economic Development Manager, Florida Power and Light

Biography

Verdell Hawkins presently serves as Economic Development Manager for Florida Power and Light where he facilitates business attraction and expansion efforts. Verdell has over 20 years of experience in community and economic development. This experience ranges from serving urban communities in metropolitan Atlanta to rural communities of Mississippi and Northwest Florida.

His work in economic development includes business development activities across the United States, Canada, and Europe. It also entails project management, business retention efforts, and the provision of utility/infrastructure support.

Verdell is a seasoned community developer having spent years overseeing government relations, nonprofit management, workforce development, and community engagement efforts across the Southeast United States.

Verdell is very engaged in the local community.  He currently serves as the immediate past chair of the Board of Directors of Florida’s Great Northwest.  He also serves as the Northwest Region Director for the Florida Economic Development Council, and as a board member for the UWF Haas Center Board of Economic Advisors. Verdell is also the current President of the Northwest Florida chapter of the African American Professionals Employee Group within FPL and a member of the Pensacola Downtown Rotary.

Verdell is a proud graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Business Management and served as Student Body President.  He also holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Georgia State University with specialization in planning and economic development.  In addition, he is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and is currently pursuing a PhD in International Development. 

Verdell and his wife, Christina, reside in the Pensacola area with their two children.