Tyler Tone

Tyler spent his childhood in the Florida Keys before attending the University of South Florida in Tampa Bay, where he graduated in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and history. 

While attending university he served as president of the USF College Democrats and on the academic advisory council of Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, where he provided on-the-ground updates on the changing landscape inside Florida universities. 

He went on to become president of the USF First Amendment Forum, where he defended the rights of student groups from Students for Socialism to the College Republicans. Under his leadership, the First Amendment Forum embarked on a policy reform initiative that used FIRE’s resources to identify gaps in the student code of conduct and worked with the school administration to establish constitutional safeguards. The result was USF becoming the first and only school in the country reviewed by FIRE to earn a “green light” for free speech and an A-grade on due process. 

Additionally, he worked with other student organizations and national partners to put together events that promote free expression and the respectful exchange of ideas on campus. This included a 2023 debate in USF’s largest venue on U.S.-Chinese relations and a 2024 debate in USF’s largest-capacity venue which included national speakers like Richard Corcoran. He is proudest, however, of three collaborative events between the College Democrats and the College Republicans in which the two organizations put their differences aside to promote goodwill and the importance of civil dialogue. 

In his free time, Tyler enjoys kayak fishing, reviewing movies on his Letterboxd, and reading the Substack newsletters of Scott Alexander and Matthew Yglesias.