Multicultural Outreach – FSB Public Affairs

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: What do they mean for your company?

By Betty Martinez Franco, Account Executive, FSB Public Affairs We heard about how companies such as Ford Motor Company or PepsiCo have successfully invested in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives into their companies, but do you know what these terms mean? Let’s take a look: Diversity is the makeup of a group of individuals with different opinions, […]

FSB Public Affairs Implements Ford’s Abrochate por Amor Amid Uncertainties of Community Engagement

By Betty Martinez Franco, Account Executive, FSB Public Affairs As the pandemic shifted the way businesses host in-person events with new restrictions to abide by, FSB Public Affairs pivoted quickly and utilized new technologies for success. Our team provided clients with alternatives for stakeholder outreach by turning meetings into virtual webinars or in-person hybrid events. […]

Cherri Spriggs

PRINCIPAL & CHIEF CLIENT SERVICE OFFICER

Just named #1 public relations firms by fee income on the Sacramento Business Journal’s Top Public Relations List, Cherri has been one of the firm’s three owners since 2012. She has managed day-to-day efforts and multi-million dollar budgets on behalf of a number of statewide and local initiative and referendum campaigns, Fortune 500 companies, local government agencies, non-profit organizations and associations.

Since 2012 she has lead the firm’s Latino Outreach and Spanish-Language team. Assimilating to the language and culture through study and living abroad, Cherri has spent much of her career developing and implementing culturally appropriate strategies for her clients. Her extensive experience and sage counsel makes her the go-to choice for clients seeking to deliver their messages to the Latino community.

Her record of success coupled with her unique collaborative approach to ballot initiative campaigns and traditional corporate public affairs programs has earned her a national reputation for being an intentional, strategic leader and a masterful tactical implementor. Cherri’s passion, dedication and vivacious spirit makes her a client favorite.

Experience:

Seven years with FSB Core Strategies
20 years in public relations, public affairs, multicultural communications and ballot initiative campaigns with Porter Novelli, Edelman, VSP and California State University, Chico
Experienced in health care, education, transportation, insurance, tort reform, land use and patient advocacy issues
Served as Campaign Manager or Deputy Campaign Manager for 15 Statewide, Regional, and Local Ballot Initiatives in Transportation, Education, Land Use, Public Safety, Health Care and Tort Reform

Community Involvement:

Commissioner, Economic Development Commission, City of Lincoln
President, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
Board Member, Visit Placer
Board Member, Lighthouse Counseling & Family Resource Center
Director at Large, CSU Chico Department of Public Relations & Journalism Advisory Board
Sustaining Member, Junior League of Sacramento
Member, California Women’s Leadership Association
Member, California State Railroad Museum Foundation
Member, Crocker Art Museum

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, Journalism, California State University, Chico
Minor, Spanish
Minor, Art History

Bill Romanelli

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT , PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Bill has more than 25 years’ experience representing companies, trade associations, industry coalitions and nonprofits seeking to tell their side of the story on a variety of local, state and federal issues. He specializes in helping clients develop the right messages and strategies to identify and recruit allies, speak credibly and persuasively to a variety of stakeholder audiences and work productively with the media. His expertise in strategic communications, issues management, digital advocacy, stakeholder engagement and advocacy, community outreach and media relations makes him a valuable addition to the FSB Public Affairs team.

Experience:

More than 25 years’ experience in public affairs, communications and marketing, including 21+ years with a major, international public affairs firm operating in Sacramento and northern California.
Multiple communication and outreach campaigns to educate and influence decision makers, reporters and local communities on issues such as environmental regulations and investigations, toxic contamination and cleanup, permitting, and litigation.
Experienced in energy and natural resources, conservation, environmental contamination, flood control, civil justice reform, health care, land use, and public safety.
Expertise in advising and training executives, CEOs and company spokespeople on how to work with the media on controversial issues, and frequent on-the-record media spokesperson on behalf of clients.
Direct experience in numerous campaigns to build, organize, and mobilize coalitions for and against proposed legislation, regulations and ballot issues.
Multiple communication and outreach strategies to educate and influence decision makers, reporters and local communities on issues such as environmental regulations and investigations, toxic contamination and cleanup, permitting, and litigation.

Community Involvement:

Volunteer Educator, Break Free
Board Member and graduate of Leadership Sacramento, Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Board member and president, Sacramento Public Relations Association
Commanding Officer, The West Coast Avengers
Volunteer – Communications, California Game Wardens Foundation
Parent Volunteer – Boy Scout Troop 94

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, Communications Studies—Public Relations Emphasis, California State University, Sacramento

Gregory Vistica

Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Washington, D.C.

Gregory Vistica is Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the FSB Public Affairs’ Washington, D.C. office.

Mr. Vistica provides discreet communication services to Fortune 100, startups, multi-national corporations, and non-profit clients worldwide. A respected crisis management and media turn-around expert, he has led integrated communication campaigns to support and protect public policy goals and corporate and individual reputations that have saved his clients millions of dollars. He advises C-suite executives, general counsels and regulatory officials in leading defense, financial, environmental, water and energy companies.

He was previously Chairman and CEO of Washington Media Group, Inc., an award-winning communications, advocacy, advertising and research firm. A founding member of the firm, Mr. Vistica shaped WMG into one of Washington, D.C.’s most trusted communications companies.

He is an author and former award-winning investigative journalist focusing on national security and the intelligence community. He has worked as a correspondent for Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, as a producer for 60 Minutes, and a staff writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune. With nearly 20 years of journalism experience, he understands the media and is close to the nation’s top editors, reporters, and producers.

The New York Times, in nominating Mr. Vistica for a Pulitzer Prize for exposing Senator Bob Kerrey’s role in a Vietnam massacre, called his work “enterprising reporting at its finest.” In addition to being selected as a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the national reporting category, he has won a Peabody, and a George Polk award for breaking the Tailhook scandal, which led to historic reforms in the military. Polk jurors said his ground-breaking coverage of the Navy made “Tailhook almost as recognizable a code word as Watergate or Teapot Dome.” He was part of the Newsweek team that won a National Magazine Award, was nominated for an Emmy by CBS, received a Heywood Broun honorable mention, and was a finalist in the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists competition. Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) also selected his work for finalist honors in its journalism awards. Brill’s Content described his journalism as “nuanced and meticulous.”

He has written extensively about C.I.A. culture and covert operations in Afghanistan, Haiti, Yugoslavia, and the Middle East, and covered a range of topics from counter-terrorism, transportation and the FBI, to campaign finance irregularities, war crimes, and street gangs in the U.S. military.

He is the author of “The Education of Lieutenant Kerrey,” a book about Senator Kerrey and Vietnam, and “Fall From Glory: The Men Who Sank the U.S. Navy,” a contemporary history. A New York Times review said Fall From Glory was “full of revelations at even the highest levels of power.” The Washington Post said his Kerrey book was a “sobering reminder” about the fog of war, with the Seattle Times saying it “deserves to be read for the valuable lesson it tells about how public-service journalism is crafted.” Michael Ignatieff, the director of Harvard’s program in human rights, said Mr. Vistica’s coverage of Kerrey would be studied in university seminars for years to come.

Mr. Vistica received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations with an emphasis on the intelligence community from San Francisco State University in 1987. He completed Masters course work there in journalism and international relations in 1988.

He was also a staff assistant to Rep. Tom Lantos, (D-CA). A native of the San Francisco Peninsula, Mr. Vistica lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family.

Ash Wright

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

Ash Wright, is a nationally recognized political strategist. His long and successful career has led him to serve as the chief strategist for campaigns in fifteen states, and Puerto Rico. Wright is also a frequent contributor on the Fox News Chanel, Fox Business Network, and MSNBC. Wright gained national notoriety in 2016 by playing a significant role in winning re-election for Senator Pat Toomey and running the grassroots effort for the Republican National Committee/President Trump’s campaign in Pennsylvania.

In 2017, Wright was nominated for four Reed Awards for Campaign & Elections, winning Best Paid Grassroots Program for his efforts in winning Pennsylvania for Republicans. During the 2018 elections, he managed campaigns in eight states, including six highly contested congressional campaigns. In addition, Wright was named to the 2019 40 under 40 class by the National Association of Political Consultants.

In addition, Wright serves as the Senior Political Advisor to George P. Bush (son of Gov. Jeb Bush, nephew of President George W. Bush and Grandson of President George H.W. Bush). He has led Bush’s campaign since 2014, including the recent 2018 re-election campaign for Texas Land Commissioner.

Wright has been instrumental in growing the Republican Party’s diverse slate of candidates, including the historical campaign to Elect Susana Martinez as the first Hispanic female Governor in our nation’s history.

Industry Awards:

Class of 2019 American Association of Political Consultants ‘Top 40 under 40’

Reed Awards: Best Use of Paid Field Program (2016 cycle)

Reed Awards: Best Grassroots Project (2018 cycle)

Nominated for Reed Awards: Best Use of Paid Field Program (2018 cycle)

Experience:

Senior Political Advisor, Commissioner George P. Bush
Deputy Director of Government Relations, Texas General Land Office
Political Director, Republican Party of Texas
Victory Director, New Mexico Republican Party
Managing Director, Grassroots Program for Senator Pat Toomie
Texas Director, Jeb Bush for President
Executive Director, Texas Republican County Chairman’s Association

Education:

Master of Arts, Management and Leadership, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia

Bachelor of Science, Political Science and Church Ministry, Hardin-Simmons University

Ryan Hawkins

Senior Vice President

Originally from Oklahoma, Ryan has worked on behalf of some of the toughest political and public affairs campaigns throughout the country. His experience in moving the needle is invaluable for anyone looking to win in today’s tough political climate.

In 2004, Ryan was a regional political and financial services director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee helping to go 4/4 with special elections. That work in 2004 helped lay the groundwork for the House to turn Democratic in 2006. After two successful cycles at Democratic voter contact firms, Ryan founded and was the President of the AAPC Pollie Award Winding Creek Group from 2009-2020. His work with the Democratic National Committee Analytics team and the Obama for America 2012 Analytics Team revolutionized political calling leading Caroline Grey, OFA Director of Operations for Analytics to say, “Their work on our tracking polls and modeling ID’s was integral to our success on Election Day. We’ve worked with them through vocabulary changes in ‘data’, ‘targeting’ and ‘analytics’ and will continue our relationship with them wherever we go.” Very few people bring the depth of knowledge and value-added approach Ryan will bring to your project.

In addition to his political resume, Ryan is an expert at land-use project management as well as corporate communications. Whether it’s gaining approval for wind turbines in Oklahoma, fighting to block a coal plant in South Dakota or helping navigate out of a media crisis in Missouri, Ryan has the expertise along with the experience to back it up to solve all of your corporate communication needs.

Along with his daughter and her dog, Ryan lives in St. Louis, Missouri where they both enjoy attending Cardinals baseball games even though he is a die-hard Dodgers fan but he has finally given up on her being one as well.

Experience

Founder and President, Winding Creek Group
Principal, Hilltop Public Strategies
Senior Advisor, Mike Bloomberg for President
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Community Involvement

Board Member, Community Education Alliance of Missouri
Board Member, De La Salle, Inc
Board Member, Country Club of St Albans
Presenter, Public Affairs Council of Canada
Presenter, Latin American Political Consultants Association

Education

Northeastern State University

Ruben Gonzalez

senior vice president and Managing Director, Los Angeles Office

Ruben Gonzalez is Senior Vice President and Managing Director for the FSB Public Affairs Los Angeles office. Prior to joining forces with FSBPA Ruben led strategic consulting firm based in Southern California and serving the entire state of California providing government affairs/advocacy, media relations, crisis communications and political/campaign consulting services.

Ruben’s past and current clients include the DocuSign, United Way of Los Angeles, Delta Airlines, RAI Services, Workday, Sierra Cedar, ESI Development, Information Council of North America, Southern California Gas Company, Parking Company of America, the California Association of Realtors & the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce where Ruben served as Senior Advisor for Strategic Affairs.

Prior to returning to the Consulting world, Ruben served as the Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Political Affairs for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, which is the oldest and largest business association in Southern California. In this role he led all public policy issue development and advocacy for the Chamber. As Senior Advisor Ruben still served as chief advisor to the Chamber’s President & CEO, Board of Directors and senior staff on setting and implementing the organization’s political strategy, and as a spokesperson and chief strategist for general and crisis communications for the organization. Ruben also direct the Chamber sponsored L.A. Jobs PAC scoring an over 80% success record in endorsed races and spending over 4 million in independent expenditure campaigns.

Ruben formerly served as Senior Vice President of External Affairs for The Meruelo Group, a multibillion-dollar consortium of companies involved in hospitality, banking, restaurants and real estate. In this capacity, he was responsible for government affairs, media relations, community outreach, brand management; as well as, political and charitable engagement.

Prior to The Meruelo Group, Ruben was with a LA’s top public affairs firm where he served multiple clients as a lobbyist and ran political and issue campaigns. He also provided media strategy and served as a spokesperson for firm clients. His client portfolio at the firm included Motorola, Westfield, IBM, and many others across all business sectors.

In addition to this private sector experience, Gonzalez has made his mark in the public sector, serving as Deputy City Controller under Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick and he has held positions with the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Governing Board, California Transit Association, former California Assemblyman Lou Correa and former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and political science from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) where he served as student body president. Gonzalez served as Chair of the board for Helping Young People Excel (HYPE), and is currently on the Board of Directors at LMU’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles and LA’s Best. He was also appointed in 2015 to the California State Controller Council of Economic Advisors and currently serves as Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas’s appointee to the Los Angeles County Local Government Affairs Commission.

Andrew Fields

Senior Vice President

For more than 20 years, Andrew has been at the forefront of political affairs, campaign strategy and outreach; following a string of learning experiences on behalf of Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in the deep red South – and peppered with a stint working labor relations and small business policy for Business Roundtable in Washington, D.C. – Andrew was instrumental in Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) successful 2006 senatorial campaign. When subsequently asked by the DCCC to help lead a Northern California congressional race, he fell in love with California and made it his home.

Over the next 12 years working both with his own political advisory firm AMF Strategies and with the California Alliance for Jobs – a labor-management coalition of Laborers, Operating Engineers and Carpenters unions as well heavy infrastructure contractors – Andrew has overseen every part of the political process involved in realizing a successful ballot measure. While specializing in county- and city-wide ballot initiatives, Andrew also helped lead the successful state-wide efforts to pass Prop 1&2 (2014) and defeat Prop 6 (2018).

Experience:

14 years in California politics including federal and local candidate campaigns and state-wide and local ballot initiatives.
10+ years with the California Alliance for Jobs, a labor-management construction industry partnership, directing legislative policy and local and state-wide campaign oversight.
Led efforts for successful transportation ballot measures totaling more than $25 billion in primary funding since 2014, including:
- Alameda County (Measure BB)
- Sacramento County (Measure B)
- Santa Cruz County (Measure D)
- Stanislaus County (Measure L)
- Monterey County (Measure X)
- Santa Clara County (Measure B)
- Placer County (Measure M)
- Contra Costa Co. (Measure X)
- City of San Jose (Measure T)
- San Mateo County (Measure W)
- Marin County (Measure AA)
- BART (Measure RR)
Led successful legislative strategy to pass the state-wide water bond and rainy-day fund and subsequent state-wide campaigns (2014 Prop 1&2).
Advisory board member for a number of business start-ups including Chilean skincare line, SLC-based tech and Silicon Valley delivery service expansion.
Directed labor relations and health care legislative strategy for Business Roundtable in Washington, D.C.
Helped lead three Democratic U.S. Senate campaigns and one House race in deep red territory.

Education:

BA, Mass Communication (University of South Carolina)
CPP, Public Policy (Georgetown University)
MBA, General Management and Corporate Communications (UCLA)

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: What do they mean for your company?

FSB Public Affairs Implements Ford’s Abrochate por Amor Amid Uncertainties of Community Engagement

Brian Boeckman

Director of Digital content

John Hooper

Senior vice president

Ballot & Referendum Campaigns

FSB EXPERTS

Jeff Flint

Bill Romanelli

Cherri Spriggs

Alex Burrola

Branding

FSB EXPERTS

Cherri Spriggs

Coalition / Grassroots

FSB EXPERTS

Jeff Flint

Cherri Spriggs

Alex Burrola

we want to hear from you

Jeff Flint

CEO

Cherri Spriggs

PRINCIPAL & CHIEF CLIENT SERVICE OFFICER

Jerry Amante

Senior Vice President & General Counsel

Frank Rizzo

President

Bill Romanelli

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT , PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Alex Burrola

SENIOR ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR

Betty Martinez

Account Executive

Julie Cogert

Assistant Account Executive

Nancy Eldred

SENIOR Account Executive

Miranda Pinto

CONTROLLER

Gregory Vistica

Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Washington, D.C.

Salwa Mikbel

Finance and Administrative Specialist

Caitlin Perkins

FINANCE & OFFICE ASSISTANT

First Last

TITLE

Ash Wright

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

Brooke Bushart

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Chasen Bullock

VICE PRESIDENT

Richard Hernandez

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Ryan Hawkins

Senior Vice President

John Hooper

Senior Vice President

Citlalli Vazquez

account coordinator

Kylie Nishite

Account coordinator

Ruben Gonzalez

senior vice president and Managing Director, Los Angeles Office

Andrew Fields

Senior Vice President

Kate Lilly

Account Executive

Advertising

FSB EXPERTS

Bill Romanelli

Cherri Spriggs