Monty Burks, previously deputy director of the Governor’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative, was one of 33 people to whom Lee granted a pardon on Dec. 18. Burks, 50, is now director of Center for Faith for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Lee called Burks a leader in the recovery and reentry community.

Gov. Bill Lee proposed his Education Savings Accounts program in 2019 as an empowerment tool for low-income students to access better education.