ROKK Welcomes Kevin Vernimb as Marketing Director

ROKK Solutions welcomes Kevin Vernimb to the firm as Director of Marketing.

Vernimb will lead the firm’s external marketing efforts, playing a key role in shaping ROKK’s comprehensive strategy across paid, earned, shared and owned media. He will work closely with senior leadership to further position ROKK as the leading bipartisan public affairs firm in Washington with an unmatched team of battle-tested strategists, communicators, advertisers and creatives.

“We’re excited to bring Kevin on to support our growth, and as we celebrate our ten-year anniversary,” said Co-founder and Partner, Ron Bonjean. “We’re confident his combination of B2B and B2C marketing experience will help us spread the word in and outside Washington in innovative ways.”

Vernimb brings nearly a decade of marketing experience to ROKK across stints with Marriott International and REQ, an Agital company. Vernimb earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing and Management from the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington, DC.

“I’m thrilled to join ROKK at such an exciting time for the firm as they celebrate their ten-year anniversary,” shared Vernimb. “I’m looking forward to working with the Partners and the entire team. I have already seen ROKK in action and am thoroughly impressed by the breadth and quality of work.”

As ROKK enters its tenth year of operations, the firm continues to strategically strengthen its team and has experienced considerable year-over-year growth since its founding in 2015. ROKK was named PRovoke Media’s 2024 Public Affairs Agency of the Year in addition to winning multiple awards and recognition for both client work and company performance. With in-house capabilities in digital and paid media, creative, crisis communications, social impact analysis and response, communications and more, ROKK is a sought-after agency for Fortune 100 organizations, nonprofits and associations looking to build relationships and impact change in Washington and State and local legislatures.

President Trump will address the nation on March 4, articulating his vision for America and promoting the executive orders he has signed during his first few weeks in office. As always, his speech and rhetoric will dominate the news cycle—and catapult entire industries into the spotlight.

Regardless of whether the president does or does not mention a particular company or industry, it is imperative that corporate communicators be prepared. Abbey Schieffer shared her checklist for communications pros to prepare for Trump’s speech in O’Dwyers.

Whether presidents are in the Oval Office or overseas, they have a tail: 13 journalists who make up what’s known as the “press pool.”

Focused on reporting the president’s actions and statements, the pool itself tends to blend into the background. But it is suddenly in the spotlight as the White House has made an unprecedented move to select some of its members.

Senior Vice President and former senior producer for CNN, Kristin Wilson, shared her insights into the White House press pool in the Boston Globe. 

The discussion continues for the current budget plan in Congress and where cuts may be made and whether one bill or two for budget reconciliation will get the job done. Partner and Co-Founder Ron Bonjean shared his insights on Bloomberg’s Balance of Power.

Kristen Hawn joined Balance of Power to discuss the budget reconciliation bill, Musk’s plan to cut government spending and Mitch McConnell’s announcement that he will not seek reelection in 2026. Watch the full episode to hear the full breakdown.

Kristen Hawn, Partner at ROKK Solutions and Democratic Strategist joined Bloomberg’s Balance of Power for a look at some of the latest headlines in DC, including Trump and Musk’s joint interview on Fox News.

ROKK Solutions is proud to be named a finalist by the Reed Awards, the premier political campaign and advocacy recognition, in five categories.

The Reed Awards embody excellence in political campaigning, campaign management, political consulting and political design, grassroots and advocacy, representing the very best the political campaign and advocacy industries have to offer.

About Our Reed Awards Finalist Entries

Strategic Communications Team of the Year

ROKK has continued to grow our client roster of industry leaders and strengthen our team of battle-tested strategists over the past year. As a bipartisan, full-service firm staffed with in-house public affairs experts, creators, digital specialists and former journalists, we help our clients impact policy around taxes, technology, tariffs, energy and more. Throughout 2024 and into 2025, the ROKK team has provided strategic counsel and won major campaigns with wide-reaching results.

Interested in working with our award-winning team? Get in touch with us.

Best Online Video – Public Affairs & Best Online Video for Issue Advocacy – Social Policy

ROKK Solutions partnered with the Center of AI Safety (CAIS) to develop a 30-second video showcasing the research and field-building nonprofit’s mission, goals and promise in preparation for their launch event in Washington, DC. The video highlights CAIS’s focus on providing technical expertise to inform policy making, with an emphasis on safety in AI development. Our team adopted an innovative approach, committed to high production quality and delivered bold, effective storytelling to introduce CAIS to its most important audiences.

Best Online Video – Public Affairs & Best Online Video for Issue Advocacy – Infrastructure

In 2024, Southern Company launched the commercial operation of Plant Vogtle’s Unit 4, the first nuclear plant built in the U.S. in 30 years. Our team worked with Southern Company to produce a powerful video that celebrates the new clean energy the plant delivers to Georgia homes and businesses and highlights the thousands of jobs the project has created and the role bipartisanship played in this milestone in energy innovation.

2025’s winners will be announced at the Reed Awards & Conference in Austin, TX on March 21-22.

The members of the 119th Congress took their oath last month, and the new administration has officially begun. 

Kristen Hawn, ROKK Partner and Co-Founder of Women Who ROKK (WWR), and Kristin Wilson, Senior Vice President at ROKK, convened a panel of seasoned reporters to discuss the new Congress.

The panelists — Mica Soellner, Congressional Reporter for Punchbowl News, Mychael Schnell, Congressional Reporter for The Hill, and Kelly Phares, Capitol Hill Producer for FOX News — shared their congressional expertise. 

Alongside ROKK’s own deep background in DC, including Hawn’s experience as a top Hill staffer and Wilson’s 28 years of reporting experience covering Congress, ROKK is always working to strengthen relationships with reporters, staffers, policymakers and other stakeholders in national politics, policy and communications. 

With the 119th Congress facing many major agenda items, ROKK is here to leverage our relationships to accomplish your strategic communication goals.

ROKK Solutions welcomes Annie Clark to our leadership team as Senior Vice President.

Annie spent more than a decade working on Capitol Hill. Most recently, she was the Communications Director for Senator Susan Collins (R–ME) and the Senate Appropriations Committee. Annie also served as the Campaign Communications Director for Senator Collins’ 2020 reelection bid.

“We are excited that Annie Clark is joining our growing team of seasoned communicators,” said Co-Founder and Partner Ron Bonjean. “Her extensive experience on Capitol Hill along with deep relationships with the media and extensive crisis management insights will be invaluable assets to assist our clients with their communications goals.

“Annie spent years as a top communications expert on Capitol Hill,” said Partner Kristen Hawn. “Her expertise and keen understanding of how to shape a narrative will help our clients navigate the ever-evolving political landscape.”

“Annie has made her mark on Capitol Hill, where she is universally known as a seasoned communicator and valued advisor to one of the most powerful senators in the Republican Party. More importantly, she understands the bipartisan culture we have built here and will contribute greatly to it,” said Co-Founder and Partner Rodell Mollineau. “I look forward to Annie utilizing her valuable experience for a wide array of clients as they navigate the new power dynamics in Washington D.C.”

“I’ve spent the last ten years in the center of some of the most intense political battles, and I’ve learned what it takes to win – especially when the odds are stacked against you,” said Annie Clark. “Ron, Rodell and Kristen have assembled an exceptional team at ROKK, and I’m excited to help our clients win debates, tell their stories, and successfully navigate crises in today’s rapidly changing media environment.”

In 2024, The Hill named Annie one of 25 staffers who make Capitol Hill run. The newspaper noted that Annie is “tough when she clashes with a reporter, but she’s accessible, always armed with the facts, and always out in front of developing stories…She’s been battle-tested in a way that few have been on Capitol Hill.”

Prior to her nearly ten years with Senator Collins, Annie served as the Communications Director for Congressman Mike Turner (R-OH) and the Director of TV and Radio at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). Originally from Leawood, Kansas, Annie is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH.

Confirmation hearings are still in full swing, but will they all make it through the Senate with the GOP’s small majority? Will Trump’s tax reform pass within the first 100 days? Ron Bonjean weighs in on The Julie Mason Show about all of this and more.