Month: August 2022

Ballard Partners, one of the top government relations firms in the United States, has formed a strategic partnership with Thomas Cerra, a nationally respected educator and K-12 government relations consultant.

“Creating this strategic partnership with a nationally respected educator and consultant like Tom gives our clients direct access to his decades of experience in K-12 education as well as his broad national reach especially in Florida and California,” said Brian Ballard, the firm’s President and Founder. “Our firms have jointly represented a number of school districts in recent years, and we are delighted to establish this more formal K-12 partnership with Tom.” 

As the former deputy superintendent for Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), Cerra’s career as a K-12 educator is well-known nationally as his career spans an experience ladder that includes teaching, school-site administration, serving as chief lobbyist, chief negotiator and labor relations for M-DCPS. His experience also includes city, county, state and federal government relations, as well as strategic planning and policy development. For the last 26 years, he has been president of Florida School Services, Inc, an educational consulting firm. His clients have included school districts, benefits providers, school design and construction and publishing and technology companies as well as an educational foundation. He has served as a legislative lobbyist for M-DCPS for the past 26 years.

“Partnering with Ballard Partners is a great opportunity to mutually enhance our respective relationships and deliver exceptional services to our respective clients,” said Cerra. “I’m looking forward to working closely with Brian and the supremely talented group of professionals at Ballard Partners.”