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Chris Gobble is a respected government affairs specialist with deep issue expertise and a broad base of policymaker and stakeholder relationships. He leverages his insights into the state General Assembly, Tennessee executive branch, and local governments to help SRG clients navigate complex political challenges and effectively advance meaningful policy solutions. Prior to joining SRG, Chris served as senior director of public policy for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and was the legislative and policy director for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security under Governor Bill Haslam.

0-5 years

Chris Gobble is a respected government affairs specialist with deep issue expertise and a broad base of policymaker and stakeholder relationships. He leverages his insights into the state General Assembly, Tennessee executive branch, and local governments to help SRG clients navigate complex political challenges and effectively advance meaningful policy solutions.

Prior to joining SRG, Chris served as senior director of public policy for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, where he helped drive policy changes and facilitate government affairs efforts for 2,000 businesses representing over 180,000 employees. He also regularly and effectively collaborated with local, state, and federal elected officials to advance Chattanooga's status as a leader in education, workforce, and economic development.

Prior to Gobble's tenure in Chattanooga, he was the legislative and policy director for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. In this role, Gobble worked closely with Governor Bill Haslam's office and the state legislature to develop and implement a variety of public policy initiatives.

Originally from Bradley County, Chris earned a B.A. in Political Science and Communications from Lipscomb University. He and his wife Sarah live in Nashville.

Stephen Susano is the Co-Founder and COO of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He provides clients with strategic counsel on business opportunities and project management, regulatory matters, procurement, economic development, third-party engagement, and market positioning. Stephen leverages his lengthy private-sector experience and deep network of relationships with business leaders and key policymakers in state and local government across Tennessee to deliver solutions for clients in multiple industries.

6-10 years

Stephen Susano is the Co-Founder and COO of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He provides clients with strategic counsel on business opportunities and project management, regulatory matters, procurement, economic development, third-party engagement, and market positioning. Stephen leverages his lengthy private-sector experience and deep network of relationships with business leaders and key policymakers in state and local government across Tennessee to deliver solutions for clients in multiple industries.

Prior to Stones River Group, Stephen served as Executive Director of the Tennessee Business Partnership (TBP), an advocacy organization supported by many of the state's leading enterprises. He spearheaded its efforts to advance pro-business policies, including education and judicial reforms, to encourage job growth and economic development. In 2014, Stephen led the statewide "Vote Yes on 2" campaign in support of the Judicial Selection Amendment to the Tennessee constitution. Stephen built a broad coalition of business groups, trade associations, legal advocates and community leaders in favor of the amendment. This coalition's successful mobilization helped ensure the amendment was approved with overwhelming support, carrying 94 out of 95 counties in Tennessee

Prior to working in the public affairs space, Stephen had an extensive career in the financial services industry. He served in operating and business development roles for several investment advisers and asset management firms. He has consulted with and raised capital for both U.S. and foreign-based investment firms, and has negotiated distribution and trading agreements with multiple financial services companies. Through his work, Stephen navigated complex regulatory regimes in domestic and offshore jurisdictions

Stephen grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and currently lives in Brentwood with his wife, Ana. He and Ana have four children. Stephen serves on the board of the Nashville Downtown Partnership.

Mark Cate is the Founder and President of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He formerly served as Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's chief of staff, where he was his top advisor, strategist and negotiator.

6-10 years

I have been recognized by the Nashville Post list of In-Charge: Government & Politics for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022

Our firm was recognized nationally by the Public Relations Society of America for our comprehensive public affairs campaign to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville

Mark Cate is the Founder and President of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He formerly served as Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's chief of staff, where he was his top advisor, strategist and negotiator.

During his tenure with the Haslam Administration, Mark led several legislative policy initiatives, including K-12 education reform, workers' compensation reform, civil service reform, an alternative approach to Medicaid expansion, and postsecondary education reform, including the nationally-acclaimed Tennessee Promise program.

Prior to serving in state government, Mark successfully managed Governor Haslam's first gubernatorial campaign in 2010, which led to a record-setting general election victory. He previously worked as an executive in real estate management and development and served for 16 years as a higher education leader. Over the course of his career, Mark has served as a chief development officer, chief planning officer, chief marketing officer, and as a chief financial officer—working on budgets ranging from $10 million to $30 billion.

Mark grew up in Maryville, TN and currently lives in Brentwood with his wife Cathy who serves as the Executive Director of Leadership Tennessee. He and Cathy have two daughters, Bailey who is a recent graduate at Rhodes College and currently serves as a fellow at the Crop Trust in Bonn, Germany; and Abbie who is rising junior at George Washington University.

Cate received a B.S from Carson-Newman College, an M.S from the University of Tennessee, and Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management certificate program. He's served on a wide variety of non-profit boards and was an elected member of the Maryville Board of Education.

BRIAN BALLARD

(Florida)
Clients:

1) 1250 West Ave Owner, LLC

2) 19 Enterprises, LLC

3) 8038 and 165 Owner LLC

4) Access Restoration Services US, Inc.

5) Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts

6) Advanced Rx Pharmacy, LLC

7) AIDS Healthcare Foundation

8) Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

9) Alfred Benesch and Company

10) Alliance for Commercial Real Estate

11) Amazon.com, Inc.

12) Ambipar Holding USA

13) American Coastal Insurance Company

14) American Veterinary Medical Association

15) Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC

16) Angel Armor

17) AquaFence Inc.

18) Arion Holdings, L.L.C.

19) AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP

20) Atlas Air, Inc.

21) Atlas Data Privacy Corporation

22) Atlys Global, LLC

23) Autism Navigator, LLC

24) Automated Healthcare Solutions

25) Avecina Medical

26) Axon Enterprise, Inc.

27) Babcock Property Holdings, LLC

28) Barry University

29) Basketball Properties, LTD

30) Bayer U.S. LLC

31) BCC Engineering, LLC

32) Becker Boards

33) BHT Properties Group, LLC

34) Big Bend Homeless Coalition

35) BioSpine Institute

36) BioStem Technologies

37) Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper

38) Block, Inc.

39) Blue Origin Florida, LLC

40) Blue Waters Development Group, LLC

41) BMG Money, Inc

42) Botanicals for Better Health and Wellness

43) Bravotampa, LLC

44) Brent L. Mills, Incorporated

45) Broward County

46) Broward County Sheriff's Office

47) Camillus House, Inc

48) Caplin Family Offices, LLC

49) Centene Corporation on behalf of its affiliates and subsidiaries

50) Churchill Downs, Inc

51) Citrus Health Network, Inc

52) City of Boynton Beach

53) City of Bradenton

54) City of Cape Coral, Florida

55) City of DeBary

56) City of Delray Beach

57) City of Hallandale Beach

58) City of Largo

59) City of Marathon

60) City of Miami

61) City of North Miami Beach

62) City of Palm Beach Gardens

63) City of Pembroke Pines

64) City of Pensacola, Florida

65) City of Sarasota, Florida

66) Clear Ballot Group

67) Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County

68) Clyde Johnson Contracting & Roofing, Inc.

69) Coinbase, Inc.

70) Colonial Management Group, LP

71) Communications International, Inc.

72) Core and Main LP

73) CORE Construction

74) Council of Florida Medical School Deans

75) COVE Behavioral Health

76) Cox Science Center and Aquarium

77) Cruise Lines International Association

78) DACRA

79) DBL Ventures

80) de Moya Highway Infrastructure LLC

81) DEEP Research Incorporated

82) Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment, Inc

83) Destinations Florida

84) Dezer Plaza LLC

85) Dezer Properties LLC

86) DISH Network LLC

87) DMF Employment Opportunities, Inc.

88) Doodie Calls LLC

89) Doodie Calls, Inc.

90) DoorDash, Inc.

91) Downtown Vision, Inc.

92) DSS, Inc.

93) Earth Funeral LLC

94) East Coast Packers, LLC

95) Eisai, Inc

96) Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC

97) Embassy of Japan

98) Enespa Technologies US LLC

99) Epilepsy Florida

100) ExThera Medical Corporation

101) FarmaceuticalRX LLC

102) Feeding Florida, Inc.

103) Feeding Northeast Florida, Inc.

104) Fernandina Wins, Inc., d/b/a No Ethanol Fernandina

105) Figgers Communication, Inc.

106) Fire Neural Network

107) Florida A & M University Foundation

108) Florida Alliance of Children's Councils & Trusts, Inc.

109) Florida Association of Cosmetology & Technical Schools (FACTS)

110) Florida Chiropractic Association, Inc

111) Florida Entertainment & Arts Venues Association, Inc.

112) Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, Inc

113) Florida Podiatric Medical Association

114) Florida Power & Light Company

115) Florida Rural Water Association

116) Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund

117) Florida Society of Ophthalmology

118) Florida Society of Pathologists

119) Florida Tomato Exchange

120) Florida Transportation Builders Association, Inc

121) Florida Veterinary Medical Association

122) FOP Foundation

123) Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.

124) Foster Care Review, Inc

125) Foundation for Seminole State College of Florida, Inc

126) Fresenius Medical Care North America

127) Friends of the Underline, Inc.

128) FSCC, LLC

129) GAF Materials, LLC

130) Gates Housing Group, LLC

131) GlaxoSmithKline

132) Habilitation Center for the Handicapped, Inc.

133) Health Care District of Palm Beach County

134) Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners

135) HistoryMiami Museum

136) HNTB Corporation

137) Hope Healthcare

138) Horizon Oakland Park, LLC

139) Housing Trust Group, LLC

140) Huntsman International LLC

141) Ibis Healthcare, Inc.

142) IGT and its Affiliates

143) Indelible Management Solutions, Inc.

144) Infrastructure Rehabilitation USA, Inc.

145) Inseparable Action Inc.

146) Intellectually Developmentally Disabled Community Foundation

147) International Atlantic, LLC

148) Investment Corporation of Palm Beach

149) Jacksonville Port Authority

150) Jacksonville Transportation Authority

151) Jacob Rodgers

152) Keystone Properties, L.L.C.

153) Kinder Morgan, Inc.

154) Kitson Evergreen LLC d/b/a Kitson & Partners

155) Kleo, Inc. d/b/a ClassWallet

156) KPMG LLP

157) L3Harris Technologies, Inc.

158) Lee Health System, Inc

159) Liberty Dental Plan

160) LifeScience Logistics

161) Lighthouse Central Florida

162) Linden Airport Services Corporation

163) Lions World Vision Institute, Inc.

164) Loggerhead Marinelife Center

165) Lucent Group, Inc.

166) Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

167) M&M Realty Partners LLC

168) Major League Baseball

169) Marine Towing of Tampa, LLC

170) Martin County Board of County Commissioners

171) Max Planck Florida Foundation, Inc

172) Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc

173) MCI, LC

174) Meta Platforms, Inc.

175) Miami Dade College Foundation

176) Miami Design District Associates, LLC

177) Miami Learning Experience School

178) Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc

179) MorseLife Health System

180) Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC

181) Mount Sinai Medical Center

182) NAIOP Tampa Bay

183) National Rental Home Council

184) National Veterinary Associates, Inc.

185) Nationwide Retirement Solutions, Inc.

186) Natural Health Partners, LLC

187) New York Yankees

188) Nomi Health Inc

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

190) Northport Health Services of Florida, L.L.C.

191) Nova Southeastern University

192) NTT Data, Inc.

193) Nuestra Senora de la Vivienda Community Foundation

194) Office of the Commissioner of Baseball

195) Online Lenders Alliance

196) Orange Barrel Media

197) Padel X

198) Palm Beach Aggregates, LLC

199) Panza, Maurer & Maynard, P.A.

200) Parsons Transportation Group Inc.

201) Pensacola State College Foundation, Inc.

202) PointClickCare Technologies USA Corp

203) Public Health Trust

204) Quarterhill

205) RAI Services Company

206) Re-Entry Alliance Pensacola, Inc.

207) ReaSyn Technologies, Inc.

208) Renew Financial Group LLC

209) Revenue Based Finance Coalition

210) RightSite Health

211) Robinhood

212) RUDG, LLC

213) Safe Harbor Hospice LLC

214) SaferWatch

215) Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida

216) Sanford Airport Authority

217) SAS Institute, Inc

218) Security Scorecard

219) Selah Freedom

220) Seminole Hard Rock Digital, LLC

221) Sentara Health Plans, Inc.

222) SePro Corporation

223) Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc.

224) SHEIN Technology LLC

225) Shopping Center Management d/b/a Turnberry Associates

226) Simon Wiesenthal Center, Inc.

227) Skyward, Inc.

228) Socure, Inc.

229) Solar Sportsystems, Inc

230) South Central Florida Express, Inc

231) South Florida Police Benevolent Association

232) Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits, LLC.

233) Southern Technical College Suncoast, LLC

234) Spark Learning, Inc.

235) SPIDR Tech, Inc.

236) Spray Foam Coalition Association

237) St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care

238) Stalwart Equities

239) State Armor

240) Strategic Digital Services

241) Stride, Inc.

242) Suffolk Construction Company, Inc.

243) Sunfest Herbs LLC

244) SWARM Inc.

245) Talk of the Town, Inc.

246) Tampa General Hospital

247) Teach Florida

248) The Florida Theatre

249) The Private Suite

250) The School Board of Lee County

251) Titan America LLC

252) Town of Lantana

253) Town of Palm Beach

254) Transit Village Venture, LLC

255) Tremco Incorporated

256) Trulieve, Inc.

257) Unite USA, Inc.

258) United States Sugar Corporation

259) University of Central Florida Foundation, Inc.

260) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

261) University of Miami

262) Univfy, Inc.

263) Ventra Health

264) Versaterm Public Safety

265) Village of North Palm Beach

266) Voices for Children Foundation, Inc

267) VyStar Credit Union

268) Walden Lake, LLC

269) Walgreen Company

270) Walk Off Charities

271) WeatherSTEM

272) Wheeler Emergency Management Consulting, LLC

273) Wildlandscapes International

274) Windstorm Mitigation, Inc

275) Worldwide Interactive Network, Inc. d/b/a WIN Learning

276) Xerox Corporation and its affiliates

277) YMCA of the Palm Beaches

278) Youth Opportunity Investments

279) Zoox, Inc.

280) Zscaler, Inc.

CHRIS GOBBLE

(Tennessee)
Clients:

CHRIS GOBBLE

(Tennessee)
Clients:
  • 600 Maryland Ave., SW Suite 850EWashingtonDC20024

  • (202) 286-4950

  • 26400 Kuykendahl RdC180-427The WoodlandsTexas77375

  • 600 Maryland Ave., SW Suite 850EWashingtonDC20024

WILLIAM MINOR

(Federal)
Clients:
  • 600 Maryland Ave., SW Suite 850EWashingtonDC20024

  • 600 Maryland Ave., SW Suite 850EWashingtonDC20024

ZOE SAMS

(Tennessee)
  • 600 Maryland Ave., SW Suite 850EWashingtonDC20024