Leadership Jacksonville honored Duval County Judge Audrey McKibbin Moran with the 2024 Frederick H. Schultz Lifetime Achievement Award at its leadership event Oct. 24.
Moran, a member of the Leadership Jacksonville Class of 1989, made her mark in leadership in many areas, including having run as a Republican candidate for Jacksonville mayor in 2011.
While Moran came in third, she opened the door for more women to run for the office, including Mayor Donna Deegan, the first woman elected to lead Jacksonville.
Deegan, a three-time breast cancer survivor, said in her remarks that Moran, who has been diagnosed with cancer, sent notes of encouragement during the race.
“Keep going. Don’t let anyone stop you. That’s just who she is,” Deegan said.
“I can’t be more thrilled to be able to stand here today as your first woman mayor, at the encouragement of someone who would have been an outstanding first woman mayor,” she said.
“So thank you, Audrey, for all of your encouragement and for everything that you have done and continue to do for this community, Judge Audrey Moran.”
Moran, 66, is a 1984 graduate of Duke University School of Law.
She is a former assistant state attorney and director of legislative affairs for former Mayor Ed Austin; chief of staff for former Mayor John Delaney; president and CEO of the Sulzbacher Center homelessness services provider; and senior vice president for social responsibility and community advocacy at Baptist Health.
Moran ran unopposed and took office Jan. 1, 2023, succeeding her husband, Duval County Judge John Moran, who did not seek re-election. The couple has four adult children.
In a Sept. 27 podcast with the Very Rev. Kate Moorehead Carroll, the dean of St. John’s Cathedral Episcopal Diocese of Florida, Moran said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and went through chemotherapy and radiation treatment “and then was fine.”
During emergency gallbladder surgery in 2021, it was discovered the cancer had returned and had spread.
“But I had amazing, amazing care, and I’m so, so grateful for that. And this journey has taught me a lot of things,” Moran said.
“I’m one of those people who really likes to try to understand everything, and what’s the plan, and what’s it going to be like, and it’s OK not to know that. It’s OK not to be able to understand that, that it is a next step in this journey that we’re on, that we’ll only understand at least in part once we’re there,” she said.
“And that’s been a great comfort to me, the pieces of life’s puzzle are sometimes very hard to understand, especially when times are really difficult,” she said.
“And I’ve certainly had some difficult times over these last three and a half years, but also some beautiful times.”
In her remarks at the Leadership Jacksonville event, Moran talked about “leading with love” with the 350 supporters who attended the luncheon at the Schultz Center.
The center, which opened near St. Nicholas in 2001, was named for former Florida House Speaker Frederick H. Schultz, the namesake of the award. The center is designed to support professional educators.
“Leading with love” is one of Deegan’s focuses.
“You know, leadership, true, servant leadership is always a critical component of any healthy society, but these days, it feels especially important,” Moran said.
She cited war in the Middle East, catastrophic weather disasters, “and yes, a presidential election just 12 days away, which leads to this question, how best should we lead during times that feel extraordinary?”
“As I reflect on my year in LJ, one lesson stands out, we must lead with love. Love for your community, love for your neighbor, and love for what is possible,” she said.
“When you lead with love, it is never about you. It is about what is best for others.”
Moran said the four previous recipients of the lifetime achievement award all led with love – Fred Schultz, Gertrude Peele and Bill Brinton.
“This award is named for Fred Schultz, a man I was fortunate enough to be able to call my friend, a man who dedicated his life to public service and who believed deeply in the power of public education to transform lives,” Moran said.
“The other two individuals who have received this award are equally inspiring, Gertrude Peele, a staunch advocate for women and girls, and a true civil rights pioneer, and Bill Brinton, an attorney who led the fight to ban billboards and worked tirelessly to try to find a dedicated funding source for our public libraries. To be able to share this award with three true community champions is an incredible honor.”
Schultz was the inaugural recipient in April 2009. Peele was honored in 2012 and Brinton in 2018.
Schultz died in November 2009. Peele, who died in 2011, and Brinton, who died in 2017, were honored posthumously.
Moran closed her remarks with reflection and direction.
“Lately, I find myself thinking a lot about love. I am so blessed to be surrounded by the love of my family and phenomenal friends like each of you every single day,” she said.
“So when you leave here today, go out and lead with love. Oh, and don’t forget to vote.”