SYDNEY RIDLEY

(Florida)

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

Sydney Ridley brings years of legislative and political experience to Southern Strategy Group's Tampa Bay office. Sydney spent the past four years as the Chief Legislative Aide to House Majority Leader Dana Young, where she directed all priority policy and budget initiatives. Sydney's time as staff was at the highest level of the Florida House of Representatives, and she brings unmatched relationships with legislative staff, agency heads, and elected officials.

A political pro in Tampa Bay with extensive campaign management experience, Sydney guided Senator Dana Young to successive electoral victories in the Florida House and spearheaded her subsequent election to the Florida Senate. Sydney's political expertise, particularly in the Tampa Bay area, serves as a great strategic asset to our clients. In addition to her work with Senator Young, Sydney has served as both a political director and a field director on various Congressional and State Senate campaigns.

Born and raised in Tampa, Sydney is a third-generation Floridian, a graduate of the University of Virginia, a Florida Gator at heart, and a lover of history, golf, music, and football.

CHRISTOPHER DUDLEY

(Florida)

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

Chris joined the firm in November of 2000 after serving seven years in Florida government. During this time, Chris served as the Assistant to the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Prior to serving in Governor Bush's administration, Chris served as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Legislative Director, and Special Assistant to former Florida Education Commissioner and former Florida Lt. Governor Frank T. Brogan. Chris also served as a legislative aide in the Florida House of Representatives. Throughout the years, Chris has worked on various state and local campaigns, including the 1998 and 2002 Bush/Brogan gubernatorial campaigns.

A devoted community activist, Chris was a finalist for Volunteer of the Year in 2007. Chris has served on the Board of Directors for the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, where he served for two years as Chairman, the Board of Directors for the United Way of the Big Bend, and the Board of Directors for the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. Chris is currently the Chairman of the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, a not-for-profit statewide association representing agencies which serve homeless, runaway, and troubled youth. Chris also serves on the local advisory board for Hancock Bank and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Maclay School. Chris was recently appointed by Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum to the Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority, an entity created by the Florida Legislature to promote the business and hospitality interests of downtown Tallahassee.

A native of Fort Myers, Florida, Chris Dudley graduated from the University of South Florida in 1993 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. Chris, his wife Susanne, and their two sons live in Tallahassee.

DAVID BROWNING

(Florida)

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

David Browning is one of Florida's top political campaign operatives. David has worked with Florida's most powerful elected officials and brings a new dimension to Southern Strategy Group's team of lobbyists in Tallahassee. David was instrumental in raising millions of dollars for campaign war chests in the 2010 election cycle for Governor Rick Scott. David also worked for Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and set fundraising records for those campaigns. Fundraiser, strategist, and confidante, David is among a handful of insiders who help guide candidates to victory in Florida.

David has been equally busy helping the legislative branch. David served as the chief fundraiser for Speaker Dean Cannon. David's responsibilities included raising money for Speaker Cannon's personal campaign, as well as working with House leadership to raise money for the House Republican Caucus. Through these efforts, the Florida House returned 81 republican members giving them a supermajority.

In the Florida Senate David represented Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner. David worked with Senator John Thrasher who was elected in a highly contested special election. David brings his unique expertise to the Tallahassee team and offers our clients unprecedented insight into the workings of state government.

David is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Political Science.

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.

BRIAN BALLARD

(Florida)
Clients:

1) 19 Enterprises, LLC

2) 8038 and 165 Owner LLC

3) Access Restoration Services US, Inc.

4) Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts

5) Advanced Rx Pharmacy, LLC

6) AIDS Healthcare Foundation

7) Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

8) Alfred Benesch and Company

9) Amazon.com, Inc.

10) American Coastal Insurance Company

11) American Veterinary Medical Association

12) Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC

13) Angel Armor

14) AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP

15) Atlas Air, Inc.

16) Atlas Data Privacy Corporation

17) Atlys Global, LLC

18) Autism Navigator, LLC

19) Automated Healthcare Solutions

20) Axon Enterprise, Inc.

21) Babcock Property Holdings, LLC

22) Barry University

23) Basketball Properties, LTD

24) Bayer U.S. LLC

25) BCC Engineering, LLC

26) Becker Boards

27) Big Bend Homeless Coalition

28) BioSpine Institute

29) Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper

30) Block, Inc.

31) Blue Origin Florida, LLC

32) Blue Waters Development Group, LLC

33) BMG Money, Inc

34) Botanicals for Better Health and Wellness

35) Bravotampa, LLC

36) Broward County

37) Broward County Sheriff's Office

38) Camillus House, Inc

39) Caplin Family Offices, LLC

40) Centene Corporation on behalf of its affiliates and subsidiaries

41) Churchill Downs, Inc

42) Citrus Health Network, Inc

43) City of Boynton Beach

44) City of Bradenton

45) City of Cape Coral, Florida

46) City of DeBary

47) City of Delray Beach

48) City of Hallandale Beach

49) City of Largo

50) City of Marathon

51) City of Miami

52) City of North Miami Beach

53) City of Palm Beach Gardens

54) City of Pembroke Pines

55) City of Pensacola, Florida

56) City of Sarasota, Florida

57) Clear Ballot Group

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

59) Clyde Johnson Contracting & Roofing, Inc.

60) Colonial Management Group, LP

61) Communications International, Inc.

62) Core and Main LP

63) CORE Construction

64) Council of Florida Medical School Deans

65) COVE Behavioral Health

66) Cox Science Center and Aquarium

67) Cruise Lines International Association

68) DACRA

69) DBL Ventures

70) de Moya Highway Infrastructure LLC

71) Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment, Inc

72) Destinations Florida

73) DISH Network LLC

74) DMF Employment Opportunities, Inc.

75) Doodie Calls, Inc.

76) DoorDash, Inc.

77) Downtown Vision, Inc.

78) DSS, Inc.

79) East Coast Packers, LLC

80) Eisai, Inc

81) Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC

82) Embassy of Japan

83) Epilepsy Florida

84) ExThera Medical Corporation

85) Feeding Florida, Inc.

86) Feeding Northeast Florida, Inc.

87) Figgers Communication, Inc.

88) Florida A & M University Foundation

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

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

91) Florida Chiropractic Association, Inc

92) Florida Entertainment & Arts Venues Association, Inc.

93) Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, Inc

94) Florida Podiatric Medical Association

95) Florida Power & Light Company

96) Florida Rural Water Association

97) Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund

98) Florida Society of Ophthalmology

99) Florida Society of Pathologists

100) Florida Transportation Builders Association, Inc

101) Florida Veterinary Medical Association

102) FOP Foundation

103) Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.

104) Foster Care Review, Inc

105) Foundation for Seminole State College of Florida, Inc

106) Fresenius Medical Care North America

107) Friends of the Underline, Inc.

108) FSCC, LLC

109) GAF Materials, LLC

110) Gates Housing Group, LLC

111) GlaxoSmithKline

112) Habilitation Center for the Handicapped, Inc.

113) Health Care District of Palm Beach County

114) Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners

115) HistoryMiami Museum

116) HNTB Corporation

117) Hope Healthcare

118) Housing Trust Group, LLC

119) Huntsman International LLC

120) IGT and its Affiliates

121) Indelible Management Solutions, Inc.

122) Infrastructure Rehabilitation USA, Inc.

123) Intellectually Developmentally Disabled Community Foundation

124) International Atlantic, LLC

125) Investment Corporation of Palm Beach

126) Jacksonville Port Authority

127) Jacksonville Transportation Authority

128) Jacob Rodgers

129) Keystone Properties, L.L.C.

130) Kinder Morgan, Inc.

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

132) Kleo, Inc. d/b/a ClassWallet

133) KPMG LLP

134) L3Harris Technologies, Inc.

135) Lee Health System, Inc

136) Liberty Dental Plan

137) LifeScience Logistics

138) Lighthouse Central Florida

139) Lions World Vision Institute, Inc.

140) Loggerhead Marinelife Center

141) M&M Realty Partners LLC

142) Major League Baseball

143) Marine Towing of Tampa, LLC

144) Martin County Board of County Commissioners

145) Max Planck Florida Foundation, Inc

146) Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc

147) Miami Dade College Foundation

148) Miami Design District Associates, LLC

149) Miami Learning Experience School

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

151) MorseLife Health System

152) Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC

153) Mount Sinai Medical Center

154) NAIOP Tampa Bay

155) Natural Health Partners, LLC

156) New York Yankees

157) Nomi Health Inc

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

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

160) Nova Southeastern University

161) NTT Data, Inc.

162) Nuestra Senora de la Vivienda Community Foundation

163) Office of the Commissioner of Baseball

164) Online Lenders Alliance

165) Orange Barrel Media

166) Padel X

167) Palm Beach Aggregates, LLC

168) Panza, Maurer & Maynard, P.A.

169) Pensacola State College Foundation, Inc.

170) PointClickCare Technologies USA Corp

171) Public Health Trust

172) Quarterhill

173) RAI Services Company

174) Re-Entry Alliance Pensacola, Inc.

175) ReaSyn Technologies, Inc.

176) Renew Financial Group LLC

177) Revenue Based Finance Coalition

178) Robinhood

179) Safe Harbor Hospice LLC

180) Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida

181) Sanford Airport Authority

182) SAS Institute, Inc

183) Security Scorecard

184) Selah Freedom

185) Seminole Hard Rock Digital, LLC

186) Sentara Health Plans, Inc.

187) SePro Corporation

188) Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc.

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

190) Simon Wiesenthal Center, Inc.

191) Skyward, Inc.

192) Socure, Inc.

193) Solar Sportsystems, Inc

194) South Central Florida Express, Inc

195) South Florida Police Benevolent Association

196) Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits, LLC.

197) Spark Learning, Inc.

198) SPIDR Tech, Inc.

199) Stalwart Equities

200) State Armor

201) Strategic Digital Services

202) Stride, Inc.

203) Suffolk Construction Company, Inc.

204) Sunfest Herbs LLC

205) SWARM Inc.

206) Talk of the Town, Inc.

207) Tampa General Hospital

208) Teach Florida

209) The Florida Theatre

210) The Private Suite

211) Titan America LLC

212) Town of Lantana

213) Town of Palm Beach

214) Transit Village Venture, LLC

215) Tremco Incorporated

216) Trulieve, Inc.

217) Unite USA, Inc.

218) United States Sugar Corporation

219) University of Central Florida Foundation, Inc.

220) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

221) University of Miami

222) Ventra Health

223) Versaterm Public Safety

224) Village of North Palm Beach

225) Voices for Children Foundation, Inc

226) VyStar Credit Union

227) Walgreen Company

228) Walk Off Charities

229) WeatherSTEM

230) Wheeler Emergency Management Consulting, LLC

231) Windstorm Mitigation, Inc

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

233) YMCA of the Palm Beaches

234) Youth Opportunity Investments

235) Zoox, Inc.

236) Zscaler, Inc.

  • (850) 222-9075

  • 124 W. Jefferson St.Suite 502TallahasseeFlorida32301

Clients:
Clients:

1) Accenture LLP

2) Adelanto HealthCare Ventures, LLC

3) Advocating for Seniors

4) Ajax Building Company, LLC

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

6) AshBritt, Inc.

7) Associated Industries of Florida, Inc.

8) Assurant Group

9) AT&T Services, Inc.

10) Atkins North America, Inc.

11) bestbet Jacksonville

12) Boatsetter

13) Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

14) Brandt Information Services

15) Broward College Foundation

16) Broward County

17) Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

18) C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc.

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) Clara Homes

29) Cody Khan

30) Community Care Plan

31) Community US Fund Management Inc.

32) Coventry

33) CVS Health and All Affiliates

34) Delta Air Lines, Inc.

35) DialCare, LLC.

36) Ducky Recovery, LLC.

37) Ecoresiliency Miami LLC

38) Ecosouth Florida, LLC

39) Elevated, LLC

40) Elite DNA Therapy

41) Emovis USA, Inc.

42) Environmental Resilient Communities LLC

43) EPAM Government Solutions, LLC.

44) Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals

45) Florida Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

46) Florida Community Financial Services Association

47) Florida Institute of Technology

48) Florida International University Foundation, Inc.

49) Florida Power & Light Company

50) Florida Prosecuting Attorney's Association

51) Florida Realtors

52) Florida Surplus Lines Association

53) Florida Transportation Builders Association

54) Florida Vacation Rental Management Association

55) Fox Corporation

56) Gartner, Inc.

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

58) Graduation Alliance, Inc.

59) Grind Hard Ammo LLC

60) Haleon Consumer Healthcare

61) Hillpointe, LLC

62) Horsepower Electric

63) INSIGHTEC

64) International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children

65) K9s for Warriors

66) Land Sea Homes

67) Lennar Homes, 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) Neal Land Development Group

75) New College Foundation, Inc.

76) OBS Real Estate Holdings, LLC

77) Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, Inc.

78) Old Republic National Title Insurance Company

79) Orange Barrel Media

80) Orlando Health

81) Palm Beach Atlantic University

82) Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

83) Palm Beach Zoo

84) Paypal

85) PCI Gaming

86) Peregrine Technologies, Inc.

87) Polk County Board of County Commissioners

88) Primerica, Inc.

89) PrizePicks

90) Project LIFT

91) Promise Network Inc.

92) Quintessence Marine, Inc.

93) RAI Services Company

94) RELX Inc.

95) Renaissance Learning, Inc.

96) Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC

97) Ryan, LLC

98) Sacred Heart Health System, Inc.

99) Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida

100) SAI Interactive

101) Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

102) School Board of Brevard County

103) Sellers Dorsey

104) Sobe Sky Development, LLC

105) South Automotive Group

106) St. Petersburg College Foundation

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

108) Starkey Hearing Technologies

109) Sunshine State Tag Agency LLC

110) Take Stock in Children

111) Tamiami 137, LLC

112) Tampa Bay Rays

113) The City of Miami

114) The City of Venice

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

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

117) The Everglades Trust

118) The GEO Group, Inc.

119) The North Highland Company

120) Town Of Highland Beach

121) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

122) University of Florida Student Government Association

123) University of Miami

124) Veyer, LLC

125) Visa U.S.A. Inc.

126) WolfCap Team, LLC

127) Woolpert, Inc.

NICOLE KELLY

(Florida)
  • (850) 671-4401

  • P.O. Box 10570TallahasseeFL32302

Clients:
Clients:

ADRIAN LUKIS

(Florida)
  • (850) 577-0444

  • 201 East Park Avenue5th FLTallahasseeFlorida32301

Clients:
Clients:

CHRISTOPHER SCHOONOVER

(Florida)
Clients:

1) Accenture LLP

2) Adelanto HealthCare Ventures, LLC

3) Advocating for Seniors

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

5) Associated Industries of Florida, Inc.

6) Atkins North America, Inc.

7) bestbet Jacksonville

8) Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

9) Brandt Information Services

10) Broward College Foundation

11) Broward County

12) Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

13) Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C.

14) CDR Maguire

15) Chick-Fil-A, Inc.

16) Cicero Action

17) Citadel Enterprise Americas LLC

18) Citigroup Washington Inc.

19) City of Coral Gables

20) City of Fort Lauderdale

21) Clara Homes

22) Community Care Plan

23) Community US Fund Management Inc.

24) Coventry

25) Delta Air Lines, Inc.

26) DialCare, LLC.

27) Ducky Recovery, LLC.

28) Elevated, LLC

29) Elite DNA Therapy

30) Florida Association of District School Superintendents

31) Florida Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

32) Florida Community Financial Services Association

33) Florida Institute of Technology

34) Florida International University Foundation, Inc.

35) Florida Power & Light Company

36) Florida Realtors

37) Florida Surplus Lines Association

38) Florida Vacation Rental Management Association

39) Fox Corporation

40) Gartner, Inc.

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

42) Grind Hard Ammo LLC

43) Haleon Consumer Healthcare

44) Hillpointe, LLC

45) Horsepower Electric

46) INSIGHTEC

47) International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children

48) K9s for Warriors

49) Land Sea Homes

50) Lennar Homes, LLC

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

52) Loggerhead Marinelife Center

53) Lost Tree Village Property Owners Association, Inc.

54) Melbourne Greyhound Park

55) Memorial Healthcare System

56) Neal Land Development Group

57) New College Foundation, Inc.

58) OBS Real Estate Holdings, LLC

59) Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, Inc.

60) Old Republic National Title Insurance Company

61) Oportun, Inc.

62) Orange Barrel Media

63) Orlando Health

64) Palm Beach Atlantic University

65) Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

66) Palm Beach Zoo

67) Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

68) Paypal

69) Peregrine Technologies, Inc.

70) Polk County Board of County Commissioners

71) PrizePicks

72) Project LIFT

73) Promise Network Inc.

74) Quintessence Marine, Inc.

75) RAI Services Company

76) RELX Inc.

77) Renaissance Learning, Inc.

78) Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC

79) Ryan, LLC

80) Sacred Heart Health System, Inc.

81) Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida

82) SAI Interactive

83) Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

84) School Board of Brevard County

85) Sellers Dorsey

86) Sobe Sky Development, LLC

87) St. Petersburg College Foundation

88) St. Vincent's Health System, Inc.

89) Starkey Hearing Technologies

90) Sunshine State Tag Agency LLC

91) Take Stock in Children

92) Tampa Bay Rays

93) The City of Miami

94) The City of Venice

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

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

97) The Everglades Trust

98) The GEO Group, Inc.

99) The North Highland Company

100) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

101) University of Florida Student Government Association

102) University of Miami

103) Veyer, LLC

104) Visa U.S.A. Inc.

105) WolfCap Team, LLC

106) Woolpert, Inc.