The Fort Lauderdale Forum was founded in 2003 as a place for knowledgeable presentations and group discussion of important local and regional issues.

The Founder, Jack Latona, was a Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner from 1991 through 2000 and is an attorney in private practice. A native of Buffalo, he holds three degrees from Yale University, taught at SUNY Buffalo and was President of the University of Buffalo Foundation. He has held governmental positions in Buffalo and San Francisco, and was serving as V.P. and General Counsel for Houdaille Industries when he moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1977. Locally, he has taught at Florida Atlantic University and served as College Attorney for Broward Community College.

In the Fall of 2007, Robert A. Dressler, became the Moderator. A native of Fort Lauderdale, he is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School and former Marine Corps officer, and an attorney in private practice in Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Dressler was elected Mayor of Fort Lauderdale in 1982 and re-elected in 1985 and subsequently served a six-year term on the Board of Regents of the State University System of Florida. Among other awards and recognitions, he was recognized as "Distinguished Citizen" of Fort Lauderdale in 2007, Florida Atlantic University "Person of the Year" in 1993 and "Irishman of the Year" in 1987.