David Lawrence, Jr.

David Lawrence, Jr. retired in 1999 as Publisher of The Miami Herald to work in the area of early childhood development and readiness. He chairs The Children’s Movement of Florida, has served on the Governor’s Children and Youth Cabinet and twice chaired the Florida Partnership for School Readiness. He is the founding chair of the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. The David Lawrence, Jr. K-8 Public School opened in 2006. An endowed chair in early childhood studies is established in his name at the University of Florida. In 2015, he was appointed by the Governor as a trustee of Florida A&M University. His memoir, A Dedicated Life: Journalism, Justice and a Chance for Every Child, was published in 2018.

Before coming to Miami in 1989, he was Publisher and Executive Editor of the Detroit Free Press. Previously, he was Editor of The Charlotte Observer and earlier, held reporting and editing positions at four newspapers. (During his tenure as The Miami Herald Publisher, the paper won five Pulitzer Prizes.) He was inducted into the Florida Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2010.

He is a graduate of the University of Florida and the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. In 1988, he was honored with Knight-Ridder's top award, the John S. Knight Gold Medal. His 13 honorary doctorates include one from his alma mater, the University of Florida.

Lawrence has served the Miami Art Museum (now PAMM), United Way, the New World School of the Arts and the Foundation for Child Development in New York – each as chair – and is a life member of the University of Florida Foundation. He serves on the national boards of the Everglades Foundation and Americans for Immigrant Justice.

He and his wife Roberta, who holds a master’s degree in social work from Barry University, live in Coral Gables and have three daughters, two sons and seven grandchildren.