(850) 671-4401
Po Box 10570, Tallahassee, FL, 32302-2570, 
Subjects: All Subjects
Links:Website
3) Apple Inc
4) Artificial Intelligence for Manufacturing, Inc. (AIM)
6) AtkinsRealis
7) Bay County Board of County Commissioners
9) Beep, Inc.
14) EcoLandCo, LLC
17) Florida Senior Living Association
18) Florida Sheriffs Association
19) Florida Trucking Association
20) Gopher Resource
21) IBM
22) International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
23) JAX Chamber
24) Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC and Affiliates
25) Lake Wales Property Holdings, LLC
29) NASCAR, LLC
30) Neal Communities
33) OnSolve, LLC.
34) Osceola County
36) Punam, LLC.
37) Raydient LLC
38) ReCap, LLC
41) Second Harvest of the Big Bend
44) Tall Timbers Research, Inc.
46) TECO Energy, Inc
47) The Mahaffey Apartment Company
49) Tom Thumb Food Stores, Inc.
50) TSG Public Safety Advisors, LLC.
51) Urban SDK
Rachel Cone joins Southern Strategy Group after more than a decade of service in the highest levels of local and state governments. Rachel served as the Interim Secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), where she successfully shepherded the department's policy agenda and $11 billion budget across the finish line of the 2017 legislative session.
During her time at FDOT she also served as the Assistant Secretary for Finance and Administration, overseeing the offices of work program and budget, finance, procurement, technology, human resources, performance management and other administrative functions. She managed three of the largest transportation work programs in state history and represented the department in front of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Treasury, Fitch and Moody's rating agencies.
Rachel also directed changes to how the department finances the work program, and successfully advocated for statutory changes that resulted in a new financing vehicle for the department. This allows the department to fund additional, major transportation projects at a lower cost. She also oversaw the reorganization of the department's technology offices, which resulted in a culture shift for the department in how it prioritizes, spends and manages transportation-specific and traditional technologies.
In 2012, Governor Rick Scott appointed Rachel to serve as his Deputy Chief of Staff, where she was responsible for advising him on statewide issues, appointments to boards and commissions and providing guidance and direction to 14 state and quasi-governmental agencies on operational and management issues, including policy, budget, communication, legislative strategy and agency priorities. Those agencies were the Departments of Business and Professional Regulation, Citrus, Emergency Management, Economic Opportunity, Environmental Protection (and Water Management Districts) and Transportation. Also included under her purview were Florida Wildlife Commission, Space Florida, Visit Florida, Volunteer Florida and CareerSource Florida.
Rachel previously served as the External Affairs Director for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection where she directed planning and statewide communications strategies for the department, and coordinated communications efforts with Florida's five water management districts. This included topics such as renewed water management district oversight, various departmental restructuring, the health of Florida's springs, Governor Scott's Everglades Restoration Strategies plan and Florida's ongoing recovery after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Prior to her family's move to Tallahassee, Rachel served on the executive leadership team in the Mayor John Peyton administration in Jacksonville. Rachel began her career as a military reporter at the Florida Times-Union.
Rachel is a proud graduate of Auburn University. She and her family are active members of Trinity United Methodist Church, and Rachel serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at Holy Comforter Episcopal School in Tallahassee.
(850) 671-4401
Po Box 10570, Tallahassee, FL, 32302-2570, 
Subjects: All Subjects
Links:Website
2) Airbnb, Inc.
3) Altria Client Services LLC and its Affiliates
4) Aucilla Research Institute, Inc.
5) Bay County Board of County Commissioners
6) Beer Industry of Florida, Inc
9) Caesars Enterprise Services, LLC
10) Citizens for Hillsborough County, LLC
13) Clay County District Schools
16) Daytona State College Foundation, Inc
17) Desoto County Board of Commissioners
18) Dex Imaging Inc.
19) Dixie Board of Public Education/Dixie District School Board
21) Edmentum, Inc.
22) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
23) Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.
25) Florida Polytechnic University Foundation, Inc
26) Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Inc
27) Florida SouthWestern State College Foundation
29) Gopher Resource
30) H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
31) Harrell's, LLC
32) Hillsborough Community College Foundation, Inc.
33) I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless, Inc
34) iEnable, Inc.
35) IMG Academy LLC
38) Indian River State College Foundation, Inc.
40) Junior Achievement of Florida Foundation, Inc.
41) Lakeland Regional Health Systems
42) Martin County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller
45) Museum of Science & History
48) Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners
49) Polk County Clerk of Court
50) Polk County Sheriff's Office
51) Putnam County
54) Rood Chartrand Partnership
55) Sarasota County Government
56) Second Harvest of the Big Bend
57) South Central Florida Express, Inc
59) Southern Gardens Citrus Groves Corporation
60) Southern Gardens Citrus Holding Corporation
61) Southern Gardens Citrus Nursery Corporation
63) TECO Energy, Inc
67) Town of Belleair
68) United States Sugar Corporation
69) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.
70) Volusia County
71) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S.
73) Workday, Inc.
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.