Steve Francis (businessman)

Steven C. Francis (born October 8, 1954) is a businessman, entrepreneur, former state legislative leader, philanthropist, chairman and co-founder of AMN Healthcare.

Biography

Steve Francis was born 1954 in Phoenix, Arizona. Francis' father was employed in the farming industry, and his mother stayed home to raise five boys. He attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1978. Francis offset the cost of college by working as a dishwasher, bus boy, stock room worker, and motel desk clerk. He has lived in San Diego, California with his wife Gayle for more than twenty years, where they have raised their two children.

Government experience

Francis pursued his interest in public service by running for a seat in the Nevada State Assembly in 1982. At the age of 28, Francis was elected as one of the youngest assemblymen to ever enter the state house. His Republican colleagues elected him Majority Leader in 1985, a position he held until 1987.

Francis’s tenure in the Nevada legislature was marked by his efforts to seek public policy reform. He authored and passed legislation that successfully outlawed the sale and use of armor-piercing “cop-killer” bullets in the state and which was widely praised by members of law enforcement. Francis made news headlines by introducing legislation to reform the state’s mental health system, establishing a state commission on mental health to protect Nevada’s residents. Francis also pushed through a bill that would have eliminated the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, a joint California-Nevada commission charged with the stewardship of Lake Tahoe. Today, the bi-state agency has a $12.3 million budget and touts a lengthy list of environmental initiatives it has financed around the lake: Restoring hundreds of acres of wetlands, protecting more than 3,000 acres of sensitive land and revegetating dozens of miles of dirt roads in area forests. During Francis' tenure in office legislation was pass that strengthen tenants’ rights to protect renters from unfair landlord practices.

Francis unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2005 as a fiscal and social conservative against former San Diego Chief of Police Jerry Sanders and Councilwoman Donna Frye, after spending over $1,500,000 on his campaign in 9 weeks. Francis ran again in 2008 against incumbent Jerry Sanders as an independent outsider, spending over $6,000,000 on his campaign.

The San Diego Union-Tribune endorsed Jerry Sanders for re-election [" [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080520/news_lz1ed20top.html Francis ad campaign deceives voters] ", "San Diego Union-Tribune" (May 20, 2008).]

Business entrepreneurship

In 1985, Francis and his wife Gayle, a registered nurse, founded AMN Healthcare, a nurse staffing business, at their kitchen table.In 1987 after completing his legislative service in Nevada, Francis and Gayle relocated their small business and settled in San Diego. As AMN grew in its early years, Francis and Gayle oversaw the company’s development. From 1990 to 2005, Francis served as AMN’s Chief Executive Officer and now serves as the Chairman of the Board of AMN Healthcare.

During the 22 years of AMN’s history, the company transitioned from a private enterprise to a national public company with over 2,000 corporate employees as of the end of 2006, with an average of over 7,000 nurse and allied healthcare professionals providing staffing services to over 2,000 healthcare facility clients. Today, AMN is the nation’s largest healthcare staffing firm and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Francis still has over 3,066,449 in unexercised options of AMN Healthcare stock worth nearly $43,309,955 and 400,000 in unexercisable options worth nearly $2,167,000 equaling a total of 3,466,449 options worth $45,476,955.

In 2006, Francis founded the San Diego Institute for Policy Research, a non-partisan organization that generates economic and policy research, fostering solutions to improve San Diego’s business.

Philanthropy and community leadership

As an active member of the San Diego community, Francis has worked with numerous non-profit and charitable organizations. He is a long-serving board member and current Chairman of Father Joe’s Villages St. Vincent de Paul, which provides transitional housing for low-income families, rehabilitative services for the homeless, and residential and educational services for homeless teens. Francis is also Vice-Chairman for the San Diego YMCA, and has served in various leadership roles with the American Red Cross, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.

Awards and honors

In 2007, Francis was honored as a Father of the Year by the American Diabetes Association/San Diego Father’s Day Council, as Patriot of the Year by the Boy Scouts of America San Diego-Imperial Council and as Corporate Director of the Year by the Corporate Directors Forum.In the January 2008 Steve Francis was chosen as "One of the 50 People to Watch in 2008" By San Diego Magazine. [ [http://www.sandiegomagazine.com] ] Nonspecific|date=October 2008

References

* Davis, Rob (April 23, 2008). " [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/04/23/news/01francis042308.txt Nevada Record Dogs Francis' Green Push] ", VoiceofSanDiego.org.
* Steve Francis for Mayor (January 19, 2008). " [http://www.pr.com/press-release/68288 Steve Francis to Run for Mayor of San Diego - 'I'll be an Independent Mayor'] ", Press Release.
* Braun, Gerry (January 13, 2008). " [http://sports.uniontrib.com/news/metro/braun/20080113-9999-1m13braun.html Looming mayoral race good for city] ", "San Diego Union-Tribune".
* " [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/14/news/sandiego/12_01_211_14_08.txt Businessman Steve Francis to announce San Diego mayor candidacy.] ", "North County Times" (January 14, 2008).

External links

* [http://www.sandiegoinstitute.com/about/founder/ San Diego Institute for Policy Research]
* [http://www.amnhealthcare.com AMN Healthcare Website]
* [http://www.steveformayor.com Steve Francis for Mayor Campaign Website]