Gov. Ron DeSantis is keeping two current members of the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Board of Trustees on the panel and appointing a new member to its ranks.
The new member is lawyer Thomas Mersch of Boca Raton, who works as General Counsel of Fort Lauderdale-headquartered Kelley Kronenberg.
Mersch, who holds a law degree from the University of Mississippi, is a familiar figure to FAU. He currently serves as Chair of the FAU College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board.
He’s also a Board of Directors member at The Venture Mentoring Team nonprofit, which helps small businesses and startups.
Since 2017, he has given $8,850 at the state level to various candidates and campaigns, according to the Division of Elections. The biggest recipient was DeSantis’ now-closed political committee, Empower Parents PAC. Mersch gave that committee $5,000 in 2022.
Other recipients included the Republican Party of Florida, the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, U.S. Senator Ashley Moody’s campaign for Florida Attorney General and state Reps. Mike Giallombardo and Chip LaMarca.
DeSantis also reappointed FAU Board members Piero Bussani and Linda Stoch.
Bussani works as the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of car rental company Hertz. He holds a law degree from the State University of New York and serves on the Boards of Trustees of the self-storage-focused real estate company, CubeSmart, and the Cleveland Clinic of Weston.
Bussani has donated $16,750 to state candidates and political committees since 2000. The two biggest donations went to Sen. Tom Leek, whom Bussani gave $1,000 directly and $5,000 through Leek’s political committee, Living Life With Purpose.
He also gave $5,000 to the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and $3,000 to the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee in 2025 and 2022, respectively.
Stoch, who holds a bachelor’s degree in technical education from Witwatersrand Technical College, is a retiree active in her business and political community.
She is a member of the Haitian Evangelical Community Association Board of Directors and the co-founder of the Palm Beach County chapter of the nonprofit Carson Scholars Fund.
The fund is named for retired neurosurgeon and former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. According to Stoch’s Club 47 USA bio, the fund “has placed Dr. Ben Carson Reading Rooms in Palm Beach County Public and Charter Schools creating a literacy enriched environment for children to develop their reading skills.”
Stoch is also a co-President of the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches and Vice President of Club 47 USA, whose expressed goal is “to keep Donald Trump supporters in our area connected and engaged and to support the present and future endeavors of Donald Trump.”
Federal Election Commission records show Stoch made $21,000 in donations in 2025. Recipients included the Republican Party of Florida, Moody and U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Brian Mast and Jimmy Patronis.
The FAU Board of Trustees has 13 members — six appointed by the Governor and five by the Board of Governors, with the remaining two consisting of the President of the University Faculty Senate and the student body President.
“The trustees are responsible for cost-effective policy decisions appropriate to the university’s mission, the implementation and maintenance of high-quality education programs, the measurement of performance, the reporting of information and the provision of input regarding state policy, budgeting, and education standards,” FAU’s website says.
Appointed Trustees serve staggered, five-year terms.
The Board’s next full meeting is scheduled for Feb. 17.
Mersch’s appointment and Bussani and Stoch’s reappointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
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