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John Davies has quietly grown DAVIES to become one of the nation’s top twenty-five public relations firms, by applying precise implementation of thoughtful and innovative strategies, compelling messages and flawless execution, thereby changing public perception.
John clearly understands the business of persuasion. He is constantly searching for trends and methods to utilize on behalf of the firms’ clients. He applies his lifelong study of human behavior and effective communications strategies to influence how to earn attention and gain influence in the complex information-saturated decision-making process of today.
The growth of DAVIES into a national powerhouse firm was never the goal, but the by-product of attracting the best talent to provide creative excellence and honest value ensuring clients’ obtain desired results in tough, defining issues. In 2007 DAVIES’ was awarded Public Affairs Agency of the Year, and for the last four years, DAVIES has been named Best Agency to Work in several categories, including the overall Best U.S. Consultancy to Work For in 2008. DAVIES also ranks in the top 25 national firms by PRWeek.
As one of the nation’s most respected communications strategists, John takes on a unique role as a CEO by investing his experience daily through hands-on analysis, strategy, and messaging. He leaves the day-to-day corporate operations to professional managers, allowing him instead to focus on the firm’s clients.
John is a sought-after speaker on perception, persuasion, and communications. He is a founding board member of a National Bank, has served as Chair of the University of California’s Economic Forecast Project, President of the nation’s largest scholarship foundation, and with a group of friends has been purchasing upper-middle-class homes in South Africa and has been operating them in a family-like manner raising HIV positive orphans.
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Brandon Edwards serves as the President/COO of DAVIES and senior strategist for the firm's healthcare practice. He brings more than 15 years of experience in healthcare and a track record that includes 150 public affairs campaigns, more than 40 crisis situations, and nine political campaigns
In addition to his focus on clients, Brandon also oversees the firm's professional management team. Since joining the firm, DAVIES has been awarded Agency of the Year twice, Best Agency to Work For in four consecutive years, and overall Best U.S. Consultancy to Work For in 2007 by a leading trade publication.
Brandon offers a deep expertise in critical issues facing hospitals, health systems, and physician organizations. Prior to joining DAVIES in 2002 as a minority shareholder, Brandon oversaw the crisis communications operation for Tenet Healthcare. At the time, Tenet's operations included 116 hospitals in 19 states, and Brandon was extensively involved in litigation support, medical malpractice issues, union issues, CON battles, hospital closures, M&A, managed care contract disputes, and other high stakes, defining issues.
After completing his MBA at UCLA's Anderson School, Brandon joined Tenet's corporate strategy and venture group, which managed corporate venture fund and analyzed large strategy opportunities for the company. The group's work looked deeply into alternative staffing models, claims processing and revenue cycle management, and other critical operational issues. Brandon's nine portfolio companies included digital imaging, structured documentation, and physician office prescription dispensing, among others.
Prior to his tenure at Tenet, Brandon managed political campaigns and worked as a district representative for a member of Congress. He also worked at DAVIES in the mid 1990's, leaving the firm for corporate work at Tenet.
Brandon is a featured speaker for SHSMD, AHA, ACHE, Healthcare Roundtable, The Governance Institute, HASC, BAHCCA, VHA, and other key industry groups. He is a recognized expert in managed care issues, providing strategic counsel for provider organizations across the country.
Married with three children, Brandon calls Santa Barbara home.
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Robb has more than 20 years of public affairs, community relations,
and media relations experience. Robb was the director of media relations for FischerHealth,
a prominent healthcare public relations agency based in Los Angeles.
Previous to that position, Robb served as director of public
affairs in the Los Angeles office of the MWW Group, at that time the fourth largest
independent public affairs and public relations firm in the U.S. Robb’s
experience includes managing numerous real estate development community relations
programs in several western states for major retail, commercial, and residential
developers such as Forest City Commercial Development and Watt Development.
Robb has managed public affairs programs for a diverse client
base and has conducted coalition building and constituent organizing programs
for organizations such as the Coalition for Asbestos Resolution, where he supervised
13 states of a national program to introduce new federal legislation concerning
asbestos-related damage awards.
As a former member of the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Society of
America’s Los Angeles chapter, Robb received that chapter’s “President’s
Award” in 2000. He was credited with the “Best National Public Relations
Story” from InsidePR in February 1999 and he has received recognition for
his public affairs work from the American Association of Political Consultants.
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Phil brings an energy and
skill to fortifying and focusing our infrastructure to deliver exceptional results
for our clients. His experience serving in the key financial role for companies
in both the for-profit and non-profit arenas combined with his passion for learning
and organizational development drives the value he creates in our operations.
Phil earned an MBA from the University of Colorado with a concentration in finance
and holds a BA in Letters from the University of Oklahoma where his emphasis
was in both philosophy and natural sciences. He and his wife have one child,
a daughter.
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As senior counsel, Lisa oversees strategy development, research,
community outreach, media relations, and public hearing activities, primarily
for energy industry clients.
Lisa first joined DAVIES in 1989 as an on-site campaign manager.
For the past 15 years she has successfully managed numerous public affairs projects,
from issues management for clients including PG&E, Chevron, Mobil, Nuevo Energy
Company, Venoco, and the Subsea Well Abandonment and Rig Sharing (SWARS) programs,
to crisis communication for several oil industry leaders and entitlement approvals
for real estate developers. She is one of several energy industry experts in the
agency.
Lisa gained working knowledge of governmental and political
processes at the local, state, and federal levels while working as an aide to
former U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt and as a legislative analyst and political action
committee manager for the Central City Association of Los Angeles.
She has held several positions in the public, private, and
nonprofit sectors, including public affairs manager for a development and construction
company. Lisa is a graduate of the Santa Barbara Foundation's Katherine Harvey
Fellows program. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego,
with a degree in political science and a minor in economics. She is married with
three children.
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Richard Fawal serves as Vice President of Public Affairs at DAVIES. Richard took a break from his university studies in physics to work on a political campaign nearly 20 years ago, and he's specialized in grassroots ever since. Beginning as a campaign staffer in Texas in the late 1980s, by the mid 90s he had expanded his experience into California where he worked on mayoral and gubernatorial races across the state. In 1999 he founded two consulting firms - Blizzard, Fawal & Associates and Grassroots Solutions, Inc. in Austin, Texas. During the course of his career, Richard has worked on more than 20 political campaigns and dozens of grassroots efforts for corporate, trade associations, and non-profit clients.
In 2002, Richard brought his experience to Washington, DC as the national political director of the Arab American Institute. His mission was to help that community through the difficult post-9/11 challenges. Two years later he returned to the consulting world as a senior manager for Democracy Data & Communications (DDC), where he managed the company's online campaigns for some of the largest trade associations in the country. When DDC launched OnPoint Advocacy in 2005 to specialize in online and offline grassroots campaigns, Richard was chosen to be Director of Online Campaigns for the new company and quickly expanded his roles for both companies.
Richard brings comprehensive experience with grassroots campaign strategies at the local, state, and federal level to DAVIES. His experience spans from the tried and true methods like phone banking to the later innovations such as utilizing the power of the Internet.
He has been a featured speaker of online and offline grassroots strategies for industry leaders such as the American Marketing Association, the Grassroots Roundtable, and the Public Affairs Council.
Richard leads the DAVIES Washington, DC office. He lives with his wife and daughter in the DC suburbs.
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Alixe has a proven track record serving clients in the healthcare
industry, along with 20 years of experience in the public policy arena.
Alixe was formerly senior vice president of public affairs
for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade
association representing more than 100 of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical
companies. Prior to that, she was senior vice president of communications for
the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
Alixe brings extensive governmental credentials to DAVIES.
During the George H.W. Bush presidency, she served as assistant to the president
and deputy press secretary. Active in six presidential elections, she was a senior
advisor in George W. Bush’s successful 2000 presidential campaign. A graduate
of Hollins University, Alixe is a former producer of CNN’s nightly “Crossfire,”
and she has served as assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department
of Health and Human Services.
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Joshua Boisvert Esq. is an attorney
by training, but soon after becoming a member of the New Hampshire Bar, Joshua
chose to pursue the path of politics over law. As the first New Hampshire State
Senate Caucus Director, he helped the Democratic party take the majority in the
State Senate for the first time in 86 years.
In 1999, Joshua became an independent
political consultant working as a general consultant and direct mail specialist
for candidates. In 2000, he expanded his practice under the name Main Street
Strategies to include grassroots political consulting for organizations including
Wal-Mart. Joshua has managed and consulted on statewide political campaigns throughout
the country. In August 2002 Joshua moved his firm to Washington D.C. where he
continued his focus on corporate grassroots campaigns.
In 2004 Joshua stepped
temporarily away from Main Street Strategies to become a senior associate
in a national political consulting firm. There he focused on formulating fundraising
strategies and developing complex budgets for major political campaigns.
In October
2005, Joshua resurrected Main Street Strategies and began working solely for
corporate clients, specializing in grassroots strategies and communications for
local land use issues. Joshua serves as a lead for DAVIES Washington D.C. office.
He is married with two children.
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As director, Taylor manages strategic communications programs
for clients across the real estate development and energy industries. He manages
a team of six professionals.
These programs include research, project branding and messaging,
community outreach, media relations, government relations, crisis communications,
issue management, and public hearing activities.
Taylor began his career with DAVIES as business development
coordinator where he coordinated speaking engagements, wrote business proposals,
responded to RFPs, and worked directly with John Davies on numerous client-related
projects. Taylor earned his BA in philosophy from Stanford University, where he
graduated with honors.
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As Director, Joanne is responsible for the client
relationships and overall program management for healthcare clients. Joanne
brings more than a decade of strategic communications experience to DAVIES.
Early in her career, Joanne served as account executive at DAVIES, working primarily
with the company’s real estate and energy clients, including Mobil, Chevron,
and Venoco.
After her stint at DAVIES in the mid 1990’s, Joanne spent nearly eight
years in Tenet Healthcare’s corporate communications department. As
a communications manager, Joanne developed and executed strategic marketing communications
programs for the company’s hospitals and served as a project manager for
the company’s corporate communications efforts, including executive and
employee communications. At Tenet, Joanne gained extensive experience developing
and implementing strategic communications programs.
While at Tenet, Joanne implemented a wide array of employee communications programs,
including the company intranet, newsletters, and numerous multi-media projects
aimed at improving employee relations. She also provided management support
in the areas of crisis communications and media relations.
Joanne received her BA in English from Westmont College, where she graduated
with honors.
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As Project Manager, Sasha is responsible
for developing and implementing communications strategies for clients in DAVIES’ Real
Estate practice.
Before joining DAVIES, Sasha served as a senior account manager
at Strategy Workshop, Inc., a Los Angeles-based public relations firm specializing
in public affairs and social marketing. In this capacity, Sasha managed public
education campaigns for both public and private sector clients.
Sasha also served
as a Jesse Unruh State Assembly Fellow in Sacramento. As part of his Fellowship,
he worked as Legislative Deputy and Press Aide to State Assemblyman Joseph Canciamilla.
Sasha is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he studied
International Relations.
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As Accounting Manager, Jaime Kuczkowski brings to Davies a solid background in accounting and business operations. She is responsible for the smooth succession of accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and client billing.
In her previous position at LaunchPoint Technologies, Jaime managed the daily financial operations of the company. In addition, she operated as grant manager, administering all details from proposal through closeout of federal awards and contracts from multiple government agencies.
Jaime's further experience in accounting and operations within the medical, hospitality, and tertiary education sectors supports her familiarity with diverse practices and her ability to adjust to changing financial environments.
She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara and a notary public. Currently, she is actively pursuing accreditation as a Certified Public Accountant while enjoying life in Santa Barbara.
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Ryan Minniear serves as a Project Manager for the real estate practice, bringing years of experience working on difficult and controversial projects.
Prior to DAVIES, Ryan worked for BergDavis Public Affairs in San Francisco, where he specialized in media relations, legislative affairs, community outreach, and coalition building. Ryan led many successful land use campaigns in the Bay Area, including building community support for the unanimous approval of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Fairfield, California.
Ryan built a tough exterior working in the rough and tumble world of San Francisco politics. During the controversial debate on mandated employer health care in the San Francisco, Ryan led the policy and research work while at the same time coordinating small locally owned San Francisco businesses in opposition to the legislation. Ryan also led a coalition of more than 40 San Francisco organizations in opposition to a controversial proposal to close portions of roads in Golden Gate Park.
Ryan also served as a Public Affairs Manager for the California Apartment Association (CAA). At CAA, he led their local government relations efforts in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. He also managed a variety of public relations functions, including external and internal communications.
Ryan also has experience in event management and political fundraising. Prior to coming to California, he worked for Congressman Mark Souder (Indiana) in Washington, D.C.
Ryan has a Degree in Business and a Master's Degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University-Bloomington. He is married and now calls Los Angeles home.
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