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) Advocating for Seniors

4) Ajax Building Company, LLC

5) American Public Education, Inc.

6) American Traffic Solutions, Inc. d/b/a Verra Mobility

7) Anthropic, PBC

8) AshBritt, Inc.

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

10) Associated Industries of Florida, Inc.

11) Assurant Group

12) AT&T Services, Inc.

13) Atkins North America, Inc.

14) bestbet Jacksonville

15) BlackRock Funds Services Group, LLC

16) Boatsetter

17) Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

18) Brandt Information Services

19) Broward College Foundation

20) Broward County

21) Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

22) Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C.

23) CDR Maguire

24) Chick-Fil-A, Inc.

25) Cicero Action

26) Citadel Enterprise Americas LLC

27) Citigroup Washington Inc.

28) City of Boca Raton

29) City of Coral Gables

30) City of Fort Lauderdale

31) Cody Khan

32) Community Care Plan

33) Coventry

34) CURE Auto Insurance

35) CVS Health and All Affiliates

36) Cypress Creek Leaseholder LLC

37) Delta Air Lines, Inc.

38) Development Corporation for Israel

39) DialCare, LLC.

40) Ducky Recovery, LLC.

41) Ecoresiliency Miami LLC

42) Ecosouth Florida, LLC

43) Elevated, LLC

44) Elite DNA Therapy

45) Emovis USA, Inc.

46) Environmental Resilient Communities LLC

47) Field of Dreams

48) Florida Alliance for Seniors

49) Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals

50) Florida Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

51) Florida Atlantic University Foundation, Inc.

52) Florida Community Financial Services Association

53) Florida Credit Union Association

54) Florida Institute of Technology

55) Florida International University Foundation, Inc.

56) Florida Power & Light Company

57) Florida Prosecuting Attorney's Association

58) Florida Realtors

59) Florida Surplus Lines Association

60) Fox Corporation

61) Gartner, Inc.

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

63) Haleon Consumer Healthcare

64) Hillpointe, LLC

65) Horsepower Electric

66) INSIGHTEC

67) K9s for Warriors

68) Kalshi Inc.

69) Lennar Homes, LLC

70) Life Science Logistics, LLC

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

72) Loggerhead Marinelife Center

73) Lost Tree Village Property Owners Association, Inc.

74) Melbourne Greyhound Park

75) Memorial Healthcare System

76) Miami-Dade County

77) Monroe County Board of County Commissioners

78) National Speech & Debate Association

79) Neal Communities

80) Neal Land & Neighborhoods

81) Nile Inc.

82) North American Transit Alliance

83) OBS Real Estate Holdings, LLC

84) Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, Inc.

85) Old Republic National Title Insurance Company

86) Orange Barrel Media

87) Orlando Health

88) Palm Beach Atlantic University

89) Palm Beach County

90) Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

91) Palm Beach Zoo

92) Paypal

93) PCI Gaming

94) Peregrine Technologies, Inc.

95) Place of Hope

96) Polk County Board of County Commissioners

97) Primerica, Inc.

98) PrizePicks

99) Project LIFT

100) Promise Network Inc.

101) Quintessence Marine, Inc.

102) RAI Services Company

103) Real Public Notices LLC

104) Redwood Dev Co, LLC

105) RELX Inc.

106) Renaissance Learning, Inc.

107) Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC

108) Ryan, LLC

109) Sacred Heart Health System, Inc.

110) SaferWatch, LLC

111) Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida

112) SAI Interactive

113) Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

114) School Board of Brevard County

115) Sellers Dorsey

116) South Automotive Group

117) St. Petersburg College Foundation

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

119) Starkey Hearing Technologies

120) STRAX Technologies, LLC

121) Sunshine State Tag Agency LLC

122) Take Stock in Children

123) Tamiami 137, LLC

124) The Center for Arts & Innovation, Inc.

125) The City of Miami

126) The City of Venice

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

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

129) The Everglades Trust

130) The GEO Group, Inc.

131) The North Highland Company

132) Town Of Highland Beach

133) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

134) University of Florida Student Government Association

135) University of Miami

136) Utility Associates, Inc.

137) Veyer, LLC

138) Visa U.S.A. Inc.

139) Welbe Health

140) Woolpert, Inc.

141) 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) Advocating for Seniors

4) American Public Education, Inc.

5) American Traffic Solutions, Inc. d/b/a Verra Mobility

6) Anthropic, PBC

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

8) Associated Industries of Florida, Inc.

9) Atkins North America, Inc.

10) bestbet Jacksonville

11) Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

12) Brandt Information Services

13) Broward College Foundation

14) Broward County

15) Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

16) Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C.

17) CDR Maguire

18) Chick-Fil-A, Inc.

19) Cicero Action

20) Citadel Enterprise Americas LLC

21) Citigroup Washington Inc.

22) City of Coral Gables

23) City of Fort Lauderdale

24) Community Care Plan

25) Coral Rock Development Group, LLC

26) Coventry

27) Delta Air Lines, Inc.

28) Development Corporation for Israel

29) DialCare, LLC.

30) Ducky Recovery, LLC.

31) Elevated, LLC

32) Elite DNA Therapy

33) Field of Dreams

34) Florida Alliance for Seniors

35) Florida Association of District School Superintendents

36) Florida Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

37) Florida Atlantic University Foundation, Inc.

38) Florida Community Financial Services Association

39) Florida Credit Union Association

40) Florida Institute of Technology

41) Florida International University Foundation, Inc.

42) Florida Power & Light Company

43) Florida Realtors

44) Florida Surplus Lines Association

45) Fluid Marine

46) Fox Corporation

47) Gartner, Inc.

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

49) Haleon Consumer Healthcare

50) Hillpointe, LLC

51) Horsepower Electric

52) INSIGHTEC

53) K9s for Warriors

54) Kalshi Inc.

55) Lennar Homes, LLC

56) Life Science Logistics, LLC

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

58) Loggerhead Marinelife Center

59) Lost Tree Village Property Owners Association, Inc.

60) Melbourne Greyhound Park

61) Memorial Healthcare System

62) National Speech & Debate Association

63) Neal Communities

64) Neal Land & Neighborhoods

65) North American Transit Alliance

66) OBS Real Estate Holdings, LLC

67) Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, Inc.

68) Old Republic National Title Insurance Company

69) Oportun, Inc.

70) Orange Barrel Media

71) Orlando Health

72) Palm Beach Atlantic University

73) Palm Beach County

74) Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

75) Palm Beach Zoo

76) Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

77) Paypal

78) Peregrine Technologies, Inc.

79) Place of Hope

80) Polk County Board of County Commissioners

81) PrizePicks

82) Project LIFT

83) Promise Network Inc.

84) Quintessence Marine, Inc.

85) RAI Services Company

86) RELX Inc.

87) Renaissance Learning, Inc.

88) Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC

89) Ryan, LLC

90) Sacred Heart Health System, Inc.

91) SaferWatch, LLC

92) Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida

93) SAI Interactive

94) Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

95) School Board of Brevard County

96) Sellers Dorsey

97) Sobe Sky Development, LLC

98) St. Petersburg College Foundation

99) St. Vincent's Health System, Inc.

100) Starkey Hearing Technologies

101) STRAX Technologies, LLC

102) Sunshine State Tag Agency LLC

103) Take Stock in Children

104) The City of Miami

105) The City of Venice

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

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

108) The Everglades Trust

109) The GEO Group, Inc.

110) The North Highland Company

111) TRC Companies, Inc.

112) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

113) University of Florida Student Government Association

114) University of Miami

115) Utility Associates, Inc.

116) Veyer, LLC

117) Visa U.S.A. Inc.

118) Welbe Health

119) Woolpert, Inc.

120) World Liberty Financial