What distinguishes The Southern Group from others is where we draw our lobbyists from. Our lobbyists are almost all exclusively former government regulators, legislators or high-level government staff. We know what moves the wheels of government because, at one point in our careers, we moved those wheels ourselves.

15-20 years

National Children's Alliance, Bud Cramer Award
Florida Bar, Family Law Section, Legislative Achievement
Kristi House Service, Former President Service Award

SSG has won numerous fundraising awards and recognitions
Managing Partner, Miami office, The Southern Group
Chairman, Republican Party of Miami-Dade County
Executive Board, Republican Party of Florida

Nelson D. Diaz concentrates his practice on government and community relations. Nelson has successfully represented local governments, businesses, trade associations and other corporate clients before the Florida legislative and executive branches of government. Nelson has become one of Florida's young rising stars since serving as Chief Legislative Aide to the Former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and now United States Senator, Marco Rubio.

In addition, Nelson has successfully represented corporate entities before the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, numerous Miami-Dade County agencies and departments, the City of Miami, the City of Hialeah, and several other municipal governments and authorities in Miami-Dade County. In addition to government relations, Nelson has successfully guided many corporate clients entering the South Florida market, providing community relations services. By advising new entrants to the market on who the key players are, which organizations to join, and how to navigate the local political waters, Nelson has assisted many clients successfully enter the South Florida and Miami markets.

Nelson began his political career as a volunteer in the 1996 Presidential campaign in Florida where he and many other young leaders, including now U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, State Senator Anitere Flores, Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, and many other now-elected officials, worked hard to build a strong Republican Party base in South Florida. Since then, Nelson has worked on countless political campaigns in Florida from federal races for Presidential and U.S. Senate, to state races for Governor, Cabinet offices, Florida House of Representatives, and Florida Senate, as well as many local government campaigns for county commission, city councils, and mayor's races. Nelson has also been active in various business and civic organizations locally, and counts many legislators, party officials, and legislative leaders among his personal friends. As a result of Nelson's service with U.S. Senator Rubio and his involvement in many campaigns, Nelson has established an extensive network of key contacts in Miami-Dade County and within the Florida Legislature. In fact, Nelson currently serves as the Chairman of the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County and serves on the executive board of the Republican Party of Florida.

Active in the local community, Nelson served on the City of Miami's Historical and Environmental Preservation Board, protecting the city's historical and environmental treasures, as well as the Miami-Dade County Community Council of West Kendall, a local land use and zoning board. Additionally, Nelson serves as the Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors for Kristi House, Miami-Dade County's child advocacy center for child victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking as well as the Board of Directors of the Good Government Initiative, a bi-partisan organization dedicated to cultivating leaders of excellence in South Florida. Recently, Florida Governor Rick Scott appointed Nelson to the statewide Children and Youth Cabinet for his service and advocacy on behalf of Florida's children.

Nelson attended Florida International University, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in International Relations, with a Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, as well as minors in Political Science and Geography. Nelson graduated from the University of Florida, College of Law, cum laude, and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2004.

RONALD BOOK

(Florida)
  • (305) 935-1866

  • 4000 Hollywood Blvd.Suite 677-SHollywoodFL33021

Clients:

54) Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency

55) Gannett Media Group

56) Gate301 Miami, Inc.

57) Gold Coast Beverage Distributors, Inc

58) Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Inc.

59) Grant Street Group

60) Hard Rock Stadium

61) Hillsborough Clerk of the Court and Comptroller

62) JARC Florida

63) Jewish Community Services of South Florida

64) Keiser University

65) Lauren's Kids

66) Learning Ally

67) MACtown

68) Miami Beach Community Health Center

69) Miami Jewish Health Systems

70) Miami Project/Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis

71) Miami-Dade County

72) Miami-Dade County Public Schools

73) Museum of Discovery & Science

74) Neptune Wholesale, Inc

75) New Horizons Community Mental Health Center, Inc

76) North Broward Hospital District (d/b/a Broward Health)

77) Older Adults Technology Services (OATS)

78) OnGuard Inc.

79) OpenGov

80) Pelican Harbor Seabird Station

81) Penn Credit

82) Performance Title Services, Inc

83) Professional Opticians of Florida

84) Public Health Trust-Jackson Memorial Hospital

85) Related Ross

86) Reyes Holdings, L.L.C.

87) SEED Foundation, Inc., The

88) Solemia

89) Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County

90) South Broward Hospital District

91) Swerdlow Group

92) The GEO Group, Inc.

93) Thriving Mind South Florida

94) Title Clerk Consulting Company, LLC

95) Town of Davie

96) Town of Fort Myers Beach

97) Town of Loxahatchee Groves

98) Underdog Sports

99) University of Miami

100) Village of Estero

101) Village of Palm Springs

102) Village of Royal Palm Beach

103) Vitas Healthcare Corporation

104) White Rock Quarries

105) Whitman Family Development

106) Willdan Engineering

  • (850) 222-9075

  • 124 W Jefferson StreetOPB-DIRTallahasseeFL32301

Clients:
Clients:

1) A Place for Mom

2) Adelanto HealthCare Ventures, LLC

3) Ajax Building Company, LLC

4) American Public Education, Inc.

5) Anthropic, PBC

6) AshBritt, Inc.

7) Associated Builders and Contractors Florida East Coast Chapter Inc.

8) Associated Industries of Florida, Inc.

9) Assurant Group

10) AT&T Services, Inc.

11) Atkins North America, Inc.

12) bestbet Jacksonville

13) BlackRock Funds Services Group, LLC

14) Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

15) Brandt Information Services

16) Broward College Foundation

17) Broward County

18) Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

19) Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C.

20) CDR Maguire

21) Chick-Fil-A, Inc.

22) Cicero Action

23) Citadel Enterprise Americas LLC

24) Citigroup Washington Inc.

25) City of Boca Raton

26) City of Coral Gables

27) City of Fort Lauderdale

28) Coalition for Home Equity Partnership

29) Cody Khan

30) Community Care Plan

31) Coventry

32) CURE Auto Insurance

33) CVS Health and All Affiliates

34) Cypress Creek Leaseholder LLC

35) Delta Air Lines, Inc.

36) DialCare, LLC.

37) Ducky Recovery, LLC.

38) Ecoresiliency Miami LLC

39) Ecosouth Florida, LLC

40) Elevated, LLC

41) Elite DNA Therapy

42) Emovis USA, Inc.

43) Environmental Resilient Communities LLC

44) Field of Dreams

45) Florida Alliance for Seniors

46) Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals

47) Florida Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

48) Florida Atlantic University Foundation, Inc.

49) Florida Community Financial Services Association

50) Florida Credit Union Association

51) Florida Institute of Technology

52) Florida International University Foundation, Inc.

53) Florida Power & Light Company

54) Florida Prosecuting Attorney's Association

55) Florida Realtors

56) Florida Surplus Lines Association

57) Fox Corporation

58) Gartner, Inc.

59) George Hackney Inc. d/b/a Trulieve

60) Haleon Consumer Healthcare

61) Hillpointe, LLC

62) Horsepower Electric

63) INSIGHTEC

64) K9s for Warriors

65) Kalshi Inc.

66) Lennar Homes, LLC

67) Life Science Logistics, LLC

68) Little Havana Activities & Nutrition Centers of Dade County, Inc.

69) Loggerhead Marinelife Center

70) Lost Tree Village Property Owners Association, Inc.

71) Melbourne Greyhound Park

72) Memorial Healthcare System

73) Miami-Dade County

74) Monroe County Board of County Commissioners

75) National Speech & Debate Association

76) Neal Communities

77) Neal Land & Neighborhoods

78) Nile Inc.

79) OBS Real Estate Holdings, LLC

80) Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, Inc.

81) Old Republic National Title Insurance Company

82) Orange Barrel Media

83) Orlando Health

84) Palm Beach Atlantic University

85) Palm Beach County

86) Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

87) Palm Beach Zoo

88) Paypal

89) PBA Holdings, Inc

90) PCI Gaming

91) Peregrine Technologies, Inc.

92) Place of Hope

93) Polk County Board of County Commissioners

94) Primerica, Inc.

95) PrizePicks

96) Project LIFT

97) Promise Network Inc.

98) Quintessence Marine, Inc.

99) RAI Services Company

100) Real Public Notices LLC

101) Redwood Dev Co, LLC

102) RELX Inc.

103) Renaissance Learning, Inc.

104) Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC

105) Ryan, LLC

106) Sacred Heart Health System, Inc.

107) SaferWatch, LLC

108) Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida

109) SAI Interactive

110) Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

111) School Board of Brevard County

112) Sellers Dorsey

113) South Automotive Group

114) St. Petersburg College Foundation

115) St. Vincent's Health System, Inc.

116) Starkey Hearing Technologies

117) STRAX Technologies, LLC

118) Take Stock in Children

119) Tamiami 137, LLC

120) The Center for Arts & Innovation, Inc.

121) The City of Miami

122) The City of Venice

123) The Coalition of Attainable Housing Providers of Florida, Inc.

124) The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Inc.

125) The Everglades Trust

126) The GEO Group, Inc.

127) The North Highland Company

128) Town Of Highland Beach

129) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

130) University of Florida Student Government Association

131) University of Miami

132) Utility Associates, Inc.

133) Veyer, LLC

134) Visa U.S.A. Inc.

135) VM Consolidated, Inc. and its affiliates DBA Verra Mobility

136) Welbe Health

137) Woolpert, Inc.

138) World Liberty Financial

KELLY MALLETTE

(Florida)
  • (305) 935-1866

  • 4000 Hollywood Blvd.Ste 677-SHollywoodFL33021

Clients:

GABRIELA NAVARRO

(Florida)
  • (305) 935-1866

  • 4000 Hollywood BoulevardSuite 677-SHollywoodFL33021

Clients:

CHRISTOPHER SCHOONOVER

(Florida)
Clients:

1) A Place for Mom

2) Adelanto HealthCare Ventures, LLC

3) American Public Education, Inc.

4) Anthropic, PBC

5) Associated Builders and Contractors Florida East Coast Chapter Inc.

6) Associated Industries of Florida, Inc.

7) Atkins North America, Inc.

8) bestbet Jacksonville

9) Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

10) Brandt Information Services

11) Broward College Foundation

12) Broward County

13) Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

14) Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C.

15) CDR Maguire

16) Chick-Fil-A, Inc.

17) Cicero Action

18) Citadel Enterprise Americas LLC

19) Citigroup Washington Inc.

20) City of Coral Gables

21) City of Fort Lauderdale

22) Community Care Plan

23) Coral Rock Development Group, LLC

24) Coventry

25) Delta Air Lines, Inc.

26) DialCare, LLC.

27) Ducky Recovery, LLC.

28) Elevated, LLC

29) Elite DNA Therapy

30) Field of Dreams

31) Florida Alliance for Seniors

32) Florida Association of District School Superintendents

33) Florida Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

34) Florida Atlantic University Foundation, Inc.

35) Florida Community Financial Services Association

36) Florida Credit Union Association

37) Florida Institute of Technology

38) Florida International University Foundation, Inc.

39) Florida Power & Light Company

40) Florida Realtors

41) Florida Surplus Lines Association

42) Fluid Marine

43) Fox Corporation

44) Gartner, Inc.

45) George Hackney Inc. d/b/a Trulieve

46) Haleon Consumer Healthcare

47) Hillpointe, LLC

48) Horsepower Electric

49) INSIGHTEC

50) K9s for Warriors

51) Kalshi Inc.

52) Lennar Homes, LLC

53) Life Science Logistics, LLC

54) Little Havana Activities & Nutrition Centers of Dade County, Inc.

55) Loggerhead Marinelife Center

56) Lost Tree Village Property Owners Association, Inc.

57) Melbourne Greyhound Park

58) Memorial Healthcare System

59) National Speech & Debate Association

60) Neal Communities

61) Neal Land & Neighborhoods

62) OBS Real Estate Holdings, LLC

63) Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, Inc.

64) Old Republic National Title Insurance Company

65) Oportun, Inc.

66) Orange Barrel Media

67) Orlando Health

68) Palm Beach Atlantic University

69) Palm Beach County

70) Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

71) Palm Beach Zoo

72) Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

73) Paypal

74) Peregrine Technologies, Inc.

75) Place of Hope

76) Polk County Board of County Commissioners

77) PrizePicks

78) Project LIFT

79) Promise Network Inc.

80) Quintessence Marine, Inc.

81) RAI Services Company

82) RELX Inc.

83) Renaissance Learning, Inc.

84) Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC

85) Ryan, LLC

86) Sacred Heart Health System, Inc.

87) SaferWatch, LLC

88) Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida

89) SAI Interactive

90) Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

91) School Board of Brevard County

92) Sellers Dorsey

93) St. Petersburg College Foundation

94) St. Vincent's Health System, Inc.

95) Starkey Hearing Technologies

96) STRAX Technologies, LLC

97) Take Stock in Children

98) The City of Miami

99) The City of Venice

100) The Coalition of Attainable Housing Providers of Florida, Inc.

101) The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Inc.

102) The Everglades Trust

103) The GEO Group, Inc.

104) The North Highland Company

105) TRC Companies, Inc.

106) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

107) University of Florida Student Government Association

108) University of Miami

109) Utility Associates, Inc.

110) Veyer, LLC

111) Visa U.S.A. Inc.

112) VM Consolidated, Inc. and its affiliates DBA Verra Mobility

113) Welbe Health

114) Woolpert, Inc.

115) World Liberty Financial