Richard Corcoran and the Continental Colleges.

Eight months before taking over as president of New College of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis ally Richard Corcoran co-founded two companies, Continental Strategy, LLC and Continental, PLLC.

Page one of Richard Corcoran’s New College of Florida resume. Source: Florida Board of Governors.

BY KEVIN DANKO | August 1, 2025.

Research from this short analysis led to a co-written piece in the Florida Trident, a publication of the Florida Center for Government Accountability, which was republished in a number of local media outlets, including the Florida Gulf Coast University-affiliated NPR and PBS station WGCU, WMNF (article embedded below, scroll to view), WSL+R, and The Brandenton Times.

Source: Continental PLLC.

The companies share partners and operate out of the same offices in Washington, D.C., Tallahassee, Miami, and Buenos Aires.

According to the Florida Bar Association, Corcoran’s wife is a partner and shareholder with Continental, PLLC.

Screen shot of Anne Corcoran’s Florida Bar profile.

So far in 2025:

  • New College of Florida has paid Continental Strategy, LLC $55,000¹.

  • Florida International University (FIU) has paid Continental Strategy, LLC $45,000². Governor DeSantis’s Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez is FIU’s new president.

  • The University of North Florida has paid Continental Strategy, LLC $111,250³.

  • Charter Communications has paid Continental Strategy, LLC $180,000⁴. DeSantis ally Marva Johnson, named incoming president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, is Group Vice President, State Government Affairs for Charter Communications.

  • GEO Group has paid Continental Strategy, LLC $300,000⁵. DeSantis ally Adam Hasner, president of Florida Atlantic University, prior to taking the position, was executive vice president at GEO Group, the country’s largest private prison operator and largest ICE contractor, with 25% of GEO Group’s revenue coming from ICE contracts.

    Source: Continental Strategy, LLC’s OpenSecrets lobbying profile. See: ¹ p. 3, line 16. ² p. 2, line 19. ³ p. 4, line 9. ⁴ p.1, line 22. ⁵ p.2, line 21.

Lobbying payments reported by Continental Strategy, LLC. Source: OpenSecrets.

Continental PLLC received $30,000—$10,000 in September, October, and November of 2024, from the Republican National Committee.

Joe Gruters, the Republican National Committee treasurer, is married to Sydney Gruters—New College Foundation’s executive director, the DeSantis ally who oversees the school’s $60 million endowment.

Payments reported by Continental PLLC. Source: OpenSecrets.