BSS GLOBAL - Key Persons
Bethany is a state legislative and executive lobbyist for the firm's clients.
Prior to joining the firm, Bethany worked as Director of Scheduling and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Office of Governor Phil Bryant. She also served in the role of Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff and as Deputy Scheduler to the Governor.
At BSS Global, Mike provides counsel on site selection and infrastructure for economic development projects and connects clients with local, state, and federal incentives, financing tools, and investment opportunities.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR ADVISOR
- Naval Officer
- Senior Advisor With
A retired physician and Naval officer, Sid consults with clients on a variety of health care-related matters, from pandemic response, to FDA approval, to health care reform.
Dr. Sidney W. "Sid" Bondurant is a Senior Advisor with BSS Global. Sid concentrates his practice on matters relating to the provision of health care services. He provides strategic counsel to the firm and to his clients on a variety of health care-related issues, including FDA approval, health care reform policies, telemedicine, reimbursement programs, pandemic response, hospital procedure, and prevention and wellness efforts.
Sid is a retired OB-GYN and a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives (2004 to 2012). He previously collaborated with Governor Bryant's Administration as a Legislative Liaison and Policy Adviser. After four years in the Governor's office, he retired again until 2017 when he joined a medical products and services company as its Medical Director, applying precision medicine to provide innovative solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Sid also serves as the Chief Medical Officer for a consumer products manufacturer.
Sid is a graduate of Mississippi State University and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is a veteran and former Navy Search and Rescue medical officer in Vietnam, Medical Officer for Destroyer Squadron 12 in Greece, and Marine Corps clinic officer at Parris Island. He retired from the Navy Reserves as Lieutenant Commander in 1992. Sid maintained a clinical practice in Grenada, Mississippi, after retiring from the military and has delivered over 5,000 babies. He authored numerous academic papers published in peer-reviewed medical journals and currently serves as Professor Emeritus at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He is also the author of a book, The History of the 33rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment.
Liz provides administrative, research and policy assistance to BSS Global team members and clients.
Liz's extensive project management experience and versatility is an invaluable asset to BSS Global.
Prior to joining BSS Global, Liz worked for the State of Louisiana Department of Health's (LDH) Engineering Services Department as Administrative Coordinator reporting to the Deputy Chief Engineer. In that role, she oversaw all the purchasing for the Safe Drinking Water Program and supported the department charged with the collection and analysis of the private drinking water facilities in Louisiana. She organized the department's participation in national and interstate conferences, cataloged Environmental Protection Agency standards, and reviewed applications submitted for federal grant funds for drinking water system upgrades and infrastructure upgrades for sewer projects.
Previously, Liz contracted with Louisiana's Food and Drug Unit to review and register all business applications for the sale and distribution of cannabidiol (CBD) products. This experience gives Liz a unique perspective on the implementation of medical cannabis programs. Before working for LDH, Liz worked as a Grant Specialist writing grant applications for workforce development programs and reporting on the fulfillment of the grant requirements.
Liz's experience also includes project administration across the construction industry in Florida, including completing RFPs and RFQs for municipalities for engineering, architecture, general construction, and other subcontractor services. She also owned her own bookkeeping services firm in South Florida.
Job Titles:
- Mississippi 's Chief Executive Officer
Governor Bryant served as chairman of the Education Commission of the States; chairman of the Southern States Energy Board; chairman of Jobs for America's Graduates; and chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society of the United States.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR ADVISOR
- Senior Advisor With
Herb Frierson is a Senior Advisor with BSS Global. He advises clients regarding governmental affairs and public policy matters that affect their operations.
Prior to joining the firm, Herb was the Commissioner of Revenue for the State of Mississippi from 2016-2020.
Herb also spent 25 years serving in the Mississippi House of Representatives and was chairman of the Appropriations Committee for the last five years of his tenure.
Herb has an extensive background in real estate as a graduate of levels I, II, III and IV of the Mississippi Realtor Institute, has experience as a Mississippi Assessment Evaluator, and is a licensed real estate appraiser, LA-755.
His background includes experience in education and coaching, and he served six years on the executive Council of the National Assembly of Sportsman's Caucus.
Herb is a graduate of Mississippi State University.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR ADVISOR
- Senior Adviser With
Ian RH Tailyour is a Senior Adviser with BSS Global who advises clients about start-up and international business issues.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR ADVISOR
- Executive Director of Mississippi Department of Employment Security
- Senior Advisor With
Jackie's expertise is in linking diverse talent to businesses and supporting the development of vibrant economies where businesses thrive and people want to live and work. She facilitated the development of Mississippi's first Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state plan, a program designed to improve job and career options for workers and job candidates through an integrated, job-driven public workforce system.
Jackie previously served in various roles at the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, ranging from executive director to comptroller, and with the Mississippi Department of Audit. She has extensive knowledge in navigating government regulations and programs and ensuring successful outcomes.
As executive director of Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Jackie served on several boards and was a member of professional organizations ranging from the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board; the Mississippi GoCoast Board; the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and the Unemployment Insurance Integrity Center steering committee.
A graduate of the American Management Association's Executive Leadership Program, Jackie also holds a Bachelor of Professional Accountancy degree from Mississippi State University and an associate's degree from Holmes Community College.
Job Titles:
- Founding Member
- FOUNDING PARTNER
Joey is a founding member of BSS Global. In September 2019, after leaving the Bryant administration, he established Songy LLC. In January 2020, Songy LLC was merged into the BSS Global partnership.
Joey is a 2007 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration. He earned his law degree in 2010 from the University of Mississippi.
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Founding Member
- FOUNDING PARTNER
- Managing Partner
Katie serves as managing partner and counsel for the firm. She advocates for federal and state government objectives and pursues business-to-business opportunities for the firm's clients.
Katie is a founding member of BSS Global. She focuses on connecting clients with opportunities for growth, provides strategic advice to better position clients in the marketplace, and helps clients navigate governmental and regulatory challenges.
Job Titles:
- CONSULTANT
- Member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers
Kim has provided legal counsel for a number of towns and municipalities and supported legislative and administrative processes including litigation, contracts, opinions and ordinances and appeared before judicial, legislative, and administrative tribunals. Her roster of clients includes multiple towns and cities, school boards and county government.
Kim is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the International Municipal Lawyers Association, for which she currently serves as Mississippi Chairman. She also serves on the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions as Special Counsel on its Character and Fitness Committee.
Job Titles:
- SENIOR ADVISOR
- Senior Advisor With
Marshall Fisher is a Senior Advisor with BSS Global. He advises a wide range of clients on public policy matters that impact their industries. His background in law enforcement and his understanding of public safety, corrections, public procurement, and related matters uniquely position Marshall to connect clients with state and local government leaders and policy makers throughout the nation and to facilitate relationships that positively impact both the client and the community.
Prior to joining the firm, Marshall served as Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (2017-2020), where he oversaw the state's crime lab, highway patrol, Bureaus of investigation and narcotics, and drivers' license stations. In addition to leading Mississippi's public safety program, Marshall also served as Commissioner of Corrections for Mississippi (2015-2017), as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics from (2006-2014), and as the state director for the Mississippi Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Fisher retired from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2004, where he was assigned as Agent in Charge of Mississippi. During his tenure with the DEA, Fisher was assigned to field offices in Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, and DEA Headquarters in Washington D.C., where he served as section chief in the Office of Domestic Operations to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Canada.
Throughout his career, Marshall has coordinated joint operations involving the Drug Enforcement Administration, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives, and numerous other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Marshall began his career in law enforcement as a police officer in Texas and as a parole agent in Louisiana. He is a U.S. Navy veteran and a graduate of the University of Memphis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.
Job Titles:
- Founding Member
- FOUNDING PARTNER
- GOVERNOR
Phil Bryant is a founding member of BSS Global where he provides strategic advice and business development services to some of the world's largest industry leaders. Governor Bryant served two terms as Mississippi's 64th Governor from 2012 to January 2020. He also served as Mississippi's lieutenant governor, as state auditor, and as a legislator in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
While serving as Mississippi's chief executive officer, Governor Bryant largely focused his efforts on creating new economic opportunities. Under Governor Bryant's leadership Mississippi saw its lowest-ever unemployment rate, its lowest-ever high school dropout rate, its lowest-ever teen pregnancy rate, its highest-ever number of jobs, its highest-ever number of graduating physicians, its highest-ever K-12 reading and math improvement scores, and its highest-ever high school graduation rate.
Governor Bryant's dedicated focus on economic development yielded more than $8 billion in private sector investment in Mississippi as well as the largest economic project in state history- a landmark agreement with Continental Tire to build a major manufacturing facility in central Mississippi and create more than 2,500 new jobs.
From the outset of his first term as governor, Bryant relentlessly championed public education reforms, and his 2013 "Education Works" policy package implemented some of the most transformational changes ever seen in Mississippi's public education system. The proposals he guided into law include the establishment of evidence-based early childhood education programs; increased teacher pay, including two across-the-board raises and merit pay incentives; increased support for teacher National Board Certification; new scholarships for high-achieving high school students who want to work as public school teachers; and increased standards for university teacher training programs. His education agenda has also included establishing public charter school options for children trapped in failing residence-based school districts; refining Mississippi's public school rating system; and developing public funding options for programs serving students with Dyslexia and other special needs.
The cornerstone of his public education legacy is the "Third Grade Gate," which requires public school third grade students to demonstrate appropriate reading skills before being promoted to fourth grade and includes enhanced skills building for at-risk students and pedagogical training for classroom teachers. The early results of the policy reveal a foundational change for Mississippi students, providing increased opportunities to graduate high school, to secure gainful employment, and to avoid incarceration and dependence on public welfare programs.
Governor Bryant dovetailed public education reforms with a strong focus on workforce training programs and job creation. His administration worked to improve career-technical training programs and their delivery through Mississippi's top-rated community and junior college system, pairing program offerings with local workforce opportunities and collaborating with the K-12 system to strengthen high school vocational programs.
He worked closely with the University of Mississippi Medical Center to build a new School of Medicine and to increase the number of graduating physicians each year; to position Mississippi as a national leader in telemedicine services and technology; and to create a state-of-the-art residential facility to care for medically fragile children.
The son of a diesel mechanic and a mother who stayed home with her three boys, he learned early in life the values of hard work and the importance of education. The Moorhead native and former deputy sheriff earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master's degree in political science from Mississippi College, where he also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree. Before being elected governor, he served as an adjunct professor of government at Mississippi College.
Governor Bryant resides in Hazlehurst, Mississippi with his wife Deborah. They have two children and four grandchildren.
As General Counsel, Ronnie oversees legal, contractual and operational matters for BSS Global and provides guidance with regards to the firm's business development interests.
Ronnie Artigues brings more than three decades of legal, business, and operational experience to BSS Global and is ideally suited to serve as the firm's general counsel.
Ronnie's client roster covers a vast spectrum - from working with municipalities; parishes; counties; state and local governments and officials; to political agencies and committees; to educational institutions and public and private school districts. He has also counseled privately held entities and industries, commercial start-ups, and disaster recovery programs.
He was the primary advisor to multiple Mississippi Gulf Coast institutions after Hurricane Katrina and has an intricate understanding of how to oversee compliance and regulatory matters, while navigating within vast program administrations such as the United States Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery programs. Ronnie has served as the grant recipient's agent and advisor for more than $250 million in HUD CDBG recovery projects.
Ronnie has also provided organizational and administrative oversight to businesses undergoing corporate restructuring. He has represented members of Congress, state legislators, mayors, council members, and judges, and been a trusted legal and commercial advisor to CEOs, corporate boards, private organizations, and public officials.
Ronnie graduated with honors from Tulane University School of Law and with honors from the Loyola School of Business. He will serve as BSS Global's general counsel while also maintaining his law practice and while providing legal services to state and local public entities, private non-profit organizations and closely held businesses.