ROKK Solutions Promotes Top Talent and Welcomes New Team Member

WASHINGTON – ROKK Solutions, a bipartisan public affairs firm at the nexus of policy and politics, today announced two new promotions of top team members and welcomed a new member to the firm.

“We are pleased to promote these team members and recognize them for their excellent work on behalf of our clients to help them achieve their communications goals and solve their toughest challenges,” said Co-Founder and Partner Ron Bonjean.  

John Brandt has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Public Affairs. Brandt most recently served as a Vice President at the firm where he leads strategy and implementation of 360° public affairs campaigns. He spent eight years as a producer at the Fox News Channel, with a focus on Capitol Hill coverage. He was the manager of policy communications and corporate responsibility for The Public Affairs Council and also worked as the associate director for communications at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University. 

Bryce Bozadjian has been promoted to Account Director. She most recently served as a Senior Account Executive where her background in wordsmithing and her ability to craft and communicate compelling stories clearly and concisely made her a prized member of ROKK client communications teams.  Bryce previously worked at a public relations and marketing firm where she developed strong communications skills assisting high growth clients in the B2B marketing space. She holds a Bachelors of Arts from Arizona State University, where she majored in journalism and mass communication.

Katelyn Beaudet is joining ROKK as an Associate Account Executive. She most recently served as a communications assistant at the firm working with multiple account teams. Katelyn recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin, with a double major in Political Science and Strategic Communication of Wisconsin-Madison. 

ROKK has undergone a strategic expansion over the past three years which has resulted in triple-digit growth and a variety of professional accolades including: PRovoke Agency of the Year finalist, The Reeds Agency of the Year finalist, SABRE awards finalists, inclusion in the Agency Elite 100 list, a Platinum dotCOMM award, an Innovation SABRE award, and most recently a Hermes Gold award. With a 360-degree integrated suite of capabilities including digital and paid media and a creative studio, ROKK is a sought-after agency for Fortune 100 organizations, nonprofits and associations looking to create change in Washington.

As we enter the 23rd year of this once-new millennium, consultants have a good feeling about where we’re heading over the next twelve months. Many things have imploded in 2022, so much so that it’s created a need for new learning, reputation protection and ways to safely communicate.

Sean Miller from Campaigns & Elections asked Genevieve Wilkins, Senior Vice President of Creative at ROKK, to get out her crystal ball and share her predictions for 2023. Read her thoughts here.

In 2022, ROKK Solutions partnered with Penn State’s Center for the Business of Sustainability on a survey for over 1,200 voters. The question? What are your thoughts on investments in ESG and “corporate wokeness”.

ROKK Managing Director Lindsay Singleton dove into the findings and more in Fortune.

Also, don’t forget to check out the full ESG report, “Navigating ESG in the New Congress”, here.

A new year brings a new agenda for President Joe Biden. What’s on the list in 2023? With a new found Democratic minority in the House and a fractured 51-seat Senate majority, Biden may have a bigger fight to fulfill remaining campaign promises.

ROKK co-founder and partner Ron Bonjean spoke with USA Today on what a Congressional 2023 could look for the President and fellow Democrats.

Read more in USA Today.

Republicans are planning to use their control of the House of Representatives in 2023 to intensify attacks on companies that account for climate-related risks when they’re making investment decisions. However, voters seem to think that investors should be free to act on concerns about climate risk. In fact, a September poll by ROKK Solutions and Penn State University’s Center for the Business of Sustainability found that 63% of registered voters said the government shouldn’t limit ESG investing.

Get more on why voters believe businesses should have the autonomy to do what they see fit, act in the best interest of their stakeholders and more in NPR.

Also, don’t forget to check out the full ESG report, “Navigating ESG in the New Congress”, here.

Known as ESG – environmental, social, and governance principles can create a difficult terrain for corporations and policy leaders to navigate. Also labeled as “woke policies”, ESG can either alienate or engage a political base. So what do these bases, the voters, actually think about investing in and implementing ESG policies?

When ROKK Solutions’ Managing Director and head of our Social Impact Communications practice Lindsay Singleton partnered with the Smeal College of Business at Penn State to create our report “Navigating ESG in the New Congress“, they used extensive research and data collection to address this exact question . Read their answer here in USA Today.

In this episode of All Things Considered, ROKK co-founding partner Ron Bonjean spoke with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about the final Jan. 6 committee hearing. Listen to the discussion, here.

When Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced her departure from the Democratic Party and registration as an independent, it opened the door for a lot of questions. The #1 question on the Democratic parties mind? “What does this mean for the next Democratic nominee?”

ROKK co-founder and partner Rodell Mollineau took to the Washington Post to shed some light on what Sinema’s party change could mean for the future of independents and incumbents. Read his thoughts here.

In this FOX News segment, ROKK Solutions Partner Kristen Hawn and Republican strategist Colin Reed provide an analysis of the FTX collapse and the costly donations Sam Bankman-Fried made to the Democratic Party. Watch the replay here.

There is a new in-depth poll out on ESG investing, and just two things seem clear: most people don’t fully understand what environmental, social, and governance investing is and most are willing to give businesses the benefit of the doubt on what to do rather than OK government efforts to crack down on the new practice. But those trends are changing fast as Republicans get closer to controlling the House, and Wall Street is being forced to figure out the path that serves stockholders and the product-using public.

ROKK Solutions and Penn State’s Center for the Business of Sustainability partnered to survey 1,261 registered voters on ESG. They found that “hearings, legislation, lawsuits, and other forms of oversight are all on the Republican agenda, but companies have a small window to educate stakeholders on support for ESG and define it before it is defined for them.”

Read more about our groundbreaking study “Navigating ESG In The New Congress,” as reported by the Washington Examiner here.