6-10 years

Three-term member of the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Former Chair, Arkansas House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee.

Former senior executive at the Arkansas Department of Human Services, including Chief of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs and Chief of Staff.

Experience with major state-government matters involving Medicaid, agency budgets, rulemaking, procurement, RFPs, vendor contracts and program implementation.

Experience representing businesses, associations and organizations before both the Arkansas General Assembly and executive branch agencies.

Professional experience includes service in both the legislative and executive branches of Arkansas state government. As a state representative, I worked directly with members and leadership of the Arkansas General Assembly and chaired the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. At the Arkansas Department of Human Services, I worked with legislators, executive-branch officials, agency leadership, providers, contractors and other stakeholders on legislative, budget, Medicaid, regulatory, procurement and implementation matters. In private practice, I continue to represent clients before the Arkansas General Assembly, state agencies, boards and commissions. My value to clients is based on understanding the institutions, processes and responsibilities of Arkansas government rather than claiming any particular official relationship or access.

Kelley Linck is a Partner at 501 Strategies, LLC, a Little Rock-based Arkansas lobbying and government relations firm and successor to WSG Consulting. His work focuses on legislative strategy, state agency representation, regulatory advocacy, procurement and RFP strategy, government contracts, healthcare policy and other matters involving Arkansas state government.

Linck served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives, where he chaired the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. He later joined the Arkansas Department of Human Services in senior leadership, including service as Chief of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs and Chief of Staff. His work at DHS involved Medicaid, agency budgets, rulemaking, procurement and RFPs, vendor contracts, legislative affairs and implementation of state programs and policy.

After leaving state government, Linck entered private-sector government relations and has represented businesses, associations and other organizations with interests before the Arkansas General Assembly and state agencies. His approach combines legislative experience with firsthand knowledge of executive-branch operations, allowing him to help clients address issues that may begin in the legislature, move through an agency, involve a procurement or contract, or require a strategy spanning several parts of state government.

11-15 years

More than three decades of experience in Arkansas government, public policy and government relations, beginning with election to the Cleburne County Quorum Court in 1992.

Former Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Six years of service as a member of the Arkansas House.

Seven years in senior Arkansas House staff roles, including Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer, serving House leadership from both political parties.

Former Executive Director of Arkansas Community Colleges.

Legislative committee experience including the Legislative Finance Committee, Joint Budget Committee and House Revenue and Taxation Committee.

Extensive experience with the Arkansas state budget, appropriations, legislative procedure, higher education, workforce development, taxation and public financing.

Experience helping clients pursue significant project funding through historic preservation tax credits.

My experience with Arkansas government began in 1992 with service on the Cleburne County Quorum Court and continued through six years in the Arkansas House of Representatives, including service as Speaker of the House. My legislative committee work included the Legislative Finance Committee, Joint Budget Committee and House Revenue and Taxation Committee, providing extensive experience with state budgeting, appropriations and revenue policy.

After elected service, I spent seven years in senior House staff roles, including director of constituency services, Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer, working with House leadership from both political parties as well as legislators, committees, state agencies and other participants in the budget and legislative process. As Executive Director of Arkansas Community Colleges, I worked with policymakers and public institutions on higher education, workforce development, funding and related policy matters.

In private practice, I represent clients before the Arkansas General Assembly and state government on legislative, budget, tax, financing and other public-policy matters. My particular strength is understanding how policy, appropriations, agency budgets, revenue and the legislative process fit together and using that knowledge to help clients develop realistic strategies.

Bill H. Stovall III is Senior Partner at 501 Strategies, LLC, a Little Rock-based Arkansas lobbying and government relations firm and successor to WSG Consulting. His career in Arkansas government and public policy spans more than three decades, beginning in 1992 when he was elected to the Cleburne County Quorum Court. He served four terms in county government before being elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2000.

Stovall served six years in the Arkansas House and was Speaker of the House in 2005 and 2006. His legislative work included service on the Legislative Finance Committee, Joint Budget Committee and House Revenue and Taxation Committee, among other assignments. After leaving elected office, he remained at the House for seven years in senior staff roles, including director of constituency services, Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer, serving House leadership from both political parties.

In 2013, Stovall became Executive Director of Arkansas Community Colleges, where he worked on higher education, workforce development, state funding and public policy until 2018. He has been registered as an Arkansas lobbyist since at least 2015 and entered private contract government relations after leaving Arkansas Community Colleges. His client work has included legislative strategy, appropriations and budget matters, education and workforce policy, taxation and financing issues, and helping clients pursue complex public-policy objectives. He has also assisted clients, including Pacebook & Associates, with projects involving significant funding through historic preservation tax credits.

At 501 Strategies, Stovall combines more than 30 years of institutional experience with an exceptional command of Arkansas budgeting and appropriations to help clients understand what is possible, where an issue fits within state priorities, and how to build a practical path toward an objective.

Serving as president of Southern Strategy Group (Louisiana), Rodney Braxton brings the highest levels of public service to the firm. He is experienced in policy development, governmental affairs, legislative relations, budgetary issues, capital improvement projects and enjoys a reputation for "persuasive negotiation skills." As assistant chief of staff to former Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Rodney supervised transportation, insurance, and labor issues. He also served as associate commissioner of governmental relations for the Louisiana Board of Regents, the state's top higher education board.

Rodney was undersecretary of the Louisiana Department of Labor, the first executive director of the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights and, in 1994, named one of thirty Leaders of the Future by Ebony magazine. An active member of many community and civic organizations, he has served on the boards of Young Leaders Academy, Of Moving Colors Productions and Serve! Baton Rouge.

A native of Louisiana and practicing attorney since 1992, Rodney holds a B.S. in finance from the University of New Orleans and his J.D. from Tulane University Law School where he received a Merit Scholarship and was a quarterfinalist in the 1992 Frederick Douglas Moot Court Competition.

20+ years

Kevin E. Cunningham is a partner with Southern Strategy Group-Louisiana one of the preeminent Governmental Relations firms operating in the state.

He joined the firm 2009 and represents a varied client base before the legislature, federal and state agencies, local government etc. Having developed an expertise in property and casualty insurance law, Kevin was recently selected by the State Commissioner of Insurance to serve on the High Auto Insurance Rates Task Force, which is developing legislative and regulatory solutions to combat this growing problem. In addition, he serves as an active member of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry's Civil Justice Reform Advisory Council, to which he is also a past Chairman.

Prior to joining SSG, Kevin was a partner with Roedel Parsons Koch Blache Balhoff & McCollister, where he served on the firm's Executive Management Committee. From 1996 to 2001 he served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Mike Foster, where he oversaw the $14 million dollar Urban and Rural Grant Program. In addition to other duties, he also chaired both the Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development (TIMED) Task Force, which resulted in much needed infrastructure development and the Louisiana Task Force for the Reduction of Automobile Insurance Rates, which brought about significant insurance rate and civil justice reforms.

An avid tennis player, Kevin is the past President of the Greater Baton Rouge Community Tennis Association, where he oversaw the return of a challenger series tennis tournament to the City and a resumption of a grade school -- Introduction to Tennis -- program. During his tenure he also increased participation in the world-class Cajun Classic Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which attracts top professional and amateur wheelchair players from throughout the world. Recently he was asked to serve on the Board of Directors for Metro YMCA. Other past civic involvement includes the Council for Judicial Excellence and a member of Kiwanis International.

The son of retired army officer and an educator who also served as an administrator with the State Department of Education, Kevin was born in Wurzburg Germany and graduated high school in Seoul Korea. He received his Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center in 1985, where he was a member of the Southern University Moot Court Board (1984-1985) and Law Review candidate. While at Southern he was honored with the American Jurisprudence 2nd Award for Outstanding Achievement in the field of Corporations. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Old Dominion University in Norfolk VA, in 1982. Kevin is married to Helena R. Cunningham, also an attorney, CPA and affordable housing developer. They have two children, Kevin Jr., an attorney working in Baton Rouge and Sydne, a second-year law student at Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans

Randal Johnson joined Southern Strategy Group (Louisiana) after serving as Deputy Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (LDAF) for fourteen years and brings applied experience in the legislative process to the SSG team. While at LDAF, Randal initiated and handled the department's legislative package for more than twenty sessions. Prior to joining the LDAF, he supervised multi-jurisdictional drug enforcement units and served as chief of the special investigative divisions for the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Department. There, Randal drafted and presented legislation on behalf of law enforcement and parochial governments.

Adept at issues and crisis management, Randal supervised the Department of Agriculture's emergency preparation activities related to animal and plant health and weather-borne disasters. In the aftermath of the devastating 2005 hurricanes, Randal personally supervised the successful acquisition and delivery of fuel for the evacuation, rescue, and recovery efforts across the state.

With political activities ranging across both party and geographical lines, Randal, who holds a B.S. in business administration, has consulted and worked in various local, state, and federal campaigns in his native state of Louisiana. He was recognized as one of the top 100 "Louisiana Influencers" by Campaigns & Elections' Politics magazine. Randal has also coordinated successful statewide get- out-the-vote efforts for elected offices ranging from Police Juror to President of the United States. In addition, he graduated from regional and national law enforcement academies administered by the Department of Justice.