The Miami Chamber of Commerce has existed since the early 1900’s, handling economic opportunities of the greater Miami area. Their mission is a city powered by “dynamic entrepreneurs, cutting-edge technologies, an educated work force and imaginative leaders.” Gables graduate Daniel Tapia is the Director of Government Affairs and a lobbyist for the chamber.

Tapia is a paid government employee; he is constantly pushing issues and laws attempting to pass them for the benefit of voters, corporations, and himself. These laws get passed at a session, which consists of opposing sides arguing the aspects of the proposed law. A session is 60 days long with breaks in between sessions. Tapia claimed that in Miami, half the bills passing would be considered a successful day. In higher traffic areas, bills tend to take much longer to pass, while in Washington D.C., 2 years is a short amount of time for a bill to pass in session.

“Bills take too long to pass in D.C.,” said Tapia.

Throughout his day, Tapia aims to interact with the general population as frequently as possible. He stated that he is more successful when meeting people and making connections that in the office.

“If I’m in the office too long, I’m not doing it right,” said Tapia.

Opportunities in the lobbyist field are limitless. There is a vast amount of possibilities with “so many causes to get behind” that job opportunities range greatly, claimed Tapia. He hopes to to one day be a House Government Affairs Representative for a corporation. But he prefers to work at a state-level due to the faster pace of activity, unlike on the national scale.