L A & ASSOCIATES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Project Manager ( PMP Certification Pending )
- Project Manager for L. a. & Associates PR, Inc
Alvin Rollins Jr. serves as Project Manager for L. A. & Associates PR, Inc., for various projects. In this capacity, Alvin is responsible for the day to day hands on activities for clients such as the City of Jacksonville's Project New Ground, Ash remediation clean-up project. On this project, Alvin worked closely with the city's project management team, including the engineering firm of ETM and the contractor, to effectively communicate, educate and prepare the affected residents, businesses, churches and the community at large for the remediation process. A series of community outreach programs including group workshops, neighborhood meetings and individual appointments are the primary methods of communication. Alvin further helps to manage expectations and reduce the amount of disruptions for the residents by working closely with each affected community by listening and responding promptly to concerns and requests. Additionally, Alvin helps to coordinate all scheduling of pre- and post-construction meetings between the contractor and the affected residents.
Additional clients that Alvin worked with include Mayo Clinic, Health Disparities program; Edward Waters College; Jacksonville Aviation Authority; City of Jacksonville Disparity Study project.
Prior to working with L. A. & Associates PR, Alvin was a Sales and Customer Service Representative for Advanced Disposal Services, where he was responsible for generating revenue growth by securing contract agreements from new clients, responding to customer service calls, developing and fostering relationships with elected officials and staff, and actively pursuing municipal government contracts by participating in government workshops, committee meetings, preparing pre-bid and bid proposals. Additionally, Alvin has over 20 year's experience in the Finance and Sales area of the Automobile Industry.
Alvin enjoys Golf, swimming, cycling and travelling.
Job Titles:
- Director, Government Relations, Political Campaigns, & Public Affairs
Braden S. Curran serves as the Director of Government Relations, Political Campaigns, and Public Affairs for L. A. & Associates PR. As Director, Braden is able to bring an added depth to the team with his years of experience from his days of working in the Florida House of Representatives, Georgia Senate, and the Dalton Agency.
Prior to joining L. A. & Associates PR, Braden served for several years as the Chief of Staff to a member of the Florida House of Representatives, where he was named one of the ‘top 50 most influential staffers'. As Chief of Staff, he was responsible for creating and implementing a legislative agenda, serving as chief advisor to the Representative, analyzing policy, and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the office, staff, and budget. Braden has also served in the Georgia General Assembly as Aide to the Senate Rules Committee Chairman. In this role he worked side by side with the Chairman, Lieutenant Governor, and Senate leadership in order to analyze prospective legislation and develop the legislative calendar.
Durng his tenure at the Dalton Agency, Braden held the position of Account Executive for Government Relations and Public/Political Affairs. He served in a unique multi-faceted role managing corporate communications, government relations, and public affairs clients. He developed lobbying and positioning strategies, as well as key messaging for clients, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies within various industries. He supervised the Public Affairs division, lobbying on behalf of clients to influence key stakeholders. His role in political campaigns consisted of strategic consultation and positioning, communications, and fundraising at the local and state level.
Braden has worked on a countless number of political campaigns at the local, state, and congressional levels. He has also served in roles such as strategic advisor, campaign manager, communications director, and fundraiser. His experience in political campaigns and the legislative process gives him a unique insight and makes him a wonderful asset to our team.
Braden holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Stetson University. He and his wife live in the greater Atlanta area and enjoy golfing and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Public Relations / Creative Design Intern & Legal Intern
Donna-Marie serves as Public Relations/Creative Design Intern & Legal Intern for L. A. & Associates PR. In this position, Donna-Marie brings a wide range of media and design knowledge from her undergraduate major in Communications.
Prior to joining the team at L. A. & Associates PR, Donna-Marie spent a semester in South Africa, where she studied the constitution and legal system of the country. Prior to earning her first degree, Donna-Marie began her career in Advertising as an intern at the Zimmerman Advertising Agency in Tallahassee, Florida.
Donna-Marie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising from Florida State University. She is now beginning her second year of law school at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Currently, Donna-Marie is in the top ten percent of her class. In addition to her passion for creative design, she enjoys cooking and hanging out with her family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Media Relations Specialist
Honorata Kudyba joined the team at L. A. & Associates PR as Media Relations Specialist. She has over 5 years of experience in promotions, special event planning, marketing and publicity with special emphasis in media relations. Honorata has built trustworthy relationships with the local media by crafting ground-breaking, creative and well-written press pitches.
Prior to becoming a Media Relations specialist, Honorata worked with The Dalton Agency where her profile clients included McDonald's, BAE Systems and Wal-mart. Honorata's past experiences also include working for Channel 4, Jacksonville's number 1 local TV station with the Marketing and Promotions team. While there, her out-of-the-box approach to Media Relations through non-traditional methods proved to be very effective.
Her philosophy to provide the highest level of service to the media, fulfilling needs of the client in a timely and professional manner, following through on their requests and offering creative and effective ideas has yielded great results.
Honorata has an impressive list of contacts. Her credits also include working as a Writer/Actor for national TVP1 and as Writer/Editor/Co-Host for national TVTRWAM, in her home country, Poland. Prior to this, she was a writer and co-host at the national Radio Maryja, also in Poland.
Honorata moved to the United States after earning her first Bachelors degree in Media Studies in Poland. She also holds a second Bachelors degree in Public Relations from Jacksonville University. Besides her passion for Public and Media Relations, Honorata enjoys golfing, playing the piano and writing articles on her blog.
Game changer. Passionate creator. Brand builder. Motivator. These are just a few words to describe our newest associate. Jaci started her 15 year career in graphic design at Kearney Publishing Corporation, one of the premier companies in Orlando at the time. She soon switched gears and entered into a sales and marketing role and by the end of her 6 years at NCP Solutions was responsible for fostering relations with over 60 clients. At NCP Solutions she managed B2B sales and marketing communications by incorporating online composition and fulfillment solutions that generated made-to-order communications in an on-demand environment. She incorporated one-to-one marketing, email marketing, sales collateral and advertising to help clients increase market share and new business development to maximize their ROI. Most clients were high-profile mortgage companies and financial institutions. Jaci decided it was time for an even greater challenge and started an 8 year career with a Fortune 500 company, KB Home.
The new venture gave Jaci the opportunity to progress through a series of promotions because of her expertise in sales, marketing and PR, decisive problem solving and the ability to empower and lead others. She led a team of 40+ employees in local and remote areas to market and sell new home designs and community lifestyles in now one of America's toughest industries. Jaci's expertise in B2B and B2C marketing has enabled her to explore new avenues of communications which lead into public relations efforts for KB Home. Her public relations experience includes targeted solutions to employee communications, crisis management, community outreach programs and image management.
Jaci joined L.A. & Associates, PR as a consultant and continues to play an important role in helping our clients build their brand and succeed in public relations.
Job Titles:
- President
- President of L. a. & Associates PR
- President of L. a. & Associates PR, Inc
- SERVES AS COMPANY PRESIDENT
As President of L. A. & Associates PR, Michele L. A. Rollins has nineteen years of combined real estate, government affairs and public relations experience, specializing in creating and executing strategic public relations and community affairs plans.
"L. A. & Associates PR was founded on the notion that in order for us to be successful, our clients must first be successful," said Michele Rollins, L. A. & Associates PR President. "My company offers clients personalized, hands-on service delivered by experienced professionals who understand their business, mission and goals."
Rollins' expertise lies in developing and building relationships between her clients and the Jacksonville business, political and non-profit communities. Before forming L. A. & Associates PR, Rollins worked with the Dalton Agency as the Director of Government & Public Affairs, where she managed clients including the City of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and Wal-Mart.
Rollins is an active licensed Florida Attorney-at-Law and member of the Florida Bar, as well as an active licensed Florida Real Estate Agent. She is a member of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR), The Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (NEMLS), the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) as well as the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Jacksonville Bar Association (JBA).
Rollins holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Georgia, School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science & Criminal Justice from Georgia State University. She and her husband live in the greater Jacksonville area and are both avid golfers. Michele is passionate about the Jacksonville community and volunteers for the Guardian Ad Litem program and Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.
Michele L. A. Rollins is President of L. A. & Associates PR, Inc.. The firm specializes in all aspects of Public Relations, including Media Relations, Strategic Planning, Image Development & Branding and Event Planning, as well as a variety of Political services, including, government relations & public affairs, political campaigns, including fundraising and community outreach. Additionally, L. A. & Associates PR offers a wide variety of Real Estate services, including Land Use, Zoning & Entitlement services as well as project management services.
As President of L. A. & Associates PR, Rollins has nineteen years of combined real estate, government affairs and public relations experience specializing in creating and executing strategic public relations and community affairs plans as well as developing and building relationships between her clients and the local Jacksonville business, political and non-profit community.
Before forming L. A. & Associates PR, Rollins worked with The Dalton Agency, as their Director of Government & Public Affairs, where she managed the agencies public affairs clients including the City of Jacksonville, The Jacksonville Aviation Authority, Wal-Mart, Shands HealthCare, CDM, Swisher, and Manson Construction. Additionally, Rollins managed the agencies real estate clients, including Hines Corporation, Summer Beach Development, Flagship Properties (BMLR), England Thims & Miller and Epping Forest Yacht Club. Rollins also supervised the Public Relations department staff and interns and was responsible for all accounting, billing, projections, invoicing and collections.
Prior to joining The Dalton Agency, Rollins was formerly employed with a national homebuilder and contractor, KB Home Jacksonville, where she held a variety of positions over her four year tenure, including Regional Director of Government and Community Affairs, Land Acquisitions Manager, Operations Manager and Closing Manager. In the latter two positions, Rollins was directly responsible for managing in excess of $20 million dollars in real estate sales and closings monthly. She oversaw the marketing and public relations functions related to the sales and closing goals monthly. Additionally, Rollins coordinated with various banking institutions to obtain financing for qualified buyers. KB Home specialized in first time home-buyers in the $120,000 price range.
In the early part of her career in Atlanta, Rollins worked for a local real estate investment agency, where she was responsible for all real estate acquisitions of run down dilapidated properties and the subsequent rehabilitation of the properties. Once rehabilitated, the properties were marketed to qualified buyers or renters, most of who were approved with the cities HUD housing program. Additionally, Rollins served as liaison with local banks and other financial institutions to obtain creative financing options in order to place low income first time homebuyers into newly renovated properties. Rollins also oversaw the department that managed the monthly rentals of rehabilitated properties.
Rollins is an active licensed Florida Attorney-at-Law and member of the Florida Bar, as well as an active licensed Florida Real Estate Agent. She is a member of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR), The Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (NEMLS), the Florida Public Relations Association, (FPRA) as well as the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Jacksonville Bar Association (JBA).
Rollins holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Georgia, School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science & Criminal Justice from Georgia State University. She and her husband live in the greater Jacksonville area and are both avid golfers. Michele is passionate about the Jacksonville community and volunteers intensively for the Jacksonville Juvenile Justice Guardian Ad Litem program and Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.