Anastasia "Annie" Hiotis - St. Petersburg

Anastasia “Annie” Hiotis retired on March 1, 2020, after nearly 30 years with the law firm of Carlton Fields, having served as its Chief Operating Officer, where she oversaw the operations of the more than 325 lawyer firm and its five offices in Florida, Atlanta, Washington DC, New York, Hartford, and Los Angeles.  Annie continues to serve Carlton Fields as a consultant.  She has been openly gay at the law firm since 2008 and is an advocate for the firm’s longstanding diversity initiatives, which are recognized at a national level. Specifically, Carlton Fields consistently ranks as a top law firm in the country for Diversity by Vault, in addition to being ranked as a “Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index.  The firm’s efforts to promote LGBTQ equality in the workplace are evidenced by its offering of domestic partner benefits to attorneys and staff since 1999; establishing the firm’s LGBTQ Alliance; and representing LGBTQ individuals and families pro bono in significant same-sex marriage and adoption cases for all LGBTQ Floridians — including working with Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights pro bono in Pareto v. Ruvin, which allowed same-sex couples in Miami-Dade County to receive marriage licenses.

In her personal time, Annie has been extensively involved with Equality Florida since 2009 and to date, either chairing or being an active member of the St. Petersburg Equality Florida Steering Committee before joining the Board in 2017.  As a result of years of activism, Annie was honored to serve as a Grand Marshal at the St. Pete Pride Parade in 2016, was recognized by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as an Outstanding Voice in their 2016 Business of Pride edition, and in 2014 was presented the Voice of Equality Award from Equality Florida at its St. Petersburg Gala.  Since retiring, Annie spends much of her time trying to lower her golf handicap, playing Pickleball and traveling.  She also serves on the Board of American Stage Theater in St. Petersburg.