Public Policy Solutions Offers Full Spectrum of Strategic Services
Five former Verizon executives who successfully collaborated on numerous public policy efforts for more than a decade have created Public Policy Solutions, a new consulting firm that offers strategic public policy, public affairs and public relations services to businesses and organizations both locally and nationally.
Representing more than 150 years of experience in working with federal and state policy makers, community and educational leaders, corporate officials, non-profit organizations and the news media, Public Policy Solutions (www.ppsllc.net) delivers heightened expertise to help clients achieve unprecedented levels of success.
The new consulting firm, with offices in the DFW Metroplex and Austin, offers a comprehensive combination of services including lobbying, procurement, coalition building, community relations, media strategies, social media placement and monitoring, philanthropy, crisis communications and external communications. The firm, with highly transferable skills to serve multiple industries, will target its services toward businesses, associations, municipalities, non-profits, colleges and universities.
The firm’s five managing partners are:
Steve Banta – former Group President for Verizon Communications, an experienced leader of public policy efforts.
Joe King, CNP – distinguished national leader in non-profit management, marketing, government affairs and fund raising.
Bill Kula, APR – an award-winning public relations, media relations and crisis communications executive.
Richard B. Lawson – an Austin-based government relations executive in Texas for state and federal legislative advocacy.
David O. Russell – an experienced public relations executive, nationally recognized in advocacy communications.
“Public Policy Solutions will help organizations grow and thrive in a competitive environment by helping clients plot a strategic course of success that involves coalition building, debate framing and message management,” said managing partner Steve Banta, former Group President for Verizon Communications.
While at Verizon, members of the team led a nationally recognized legislative campaign that streamlined how the Fortune 20 firm could offer video services in Texas at a time when incumbent cable TV providers fought heavily against allowing new competition from traditional telecommunications companies. The victory, highlighted by a state-issued video franchise approval process that replaced a time-consuming city by city approach, ultimately became a model used in other regions of the country and ushered in unprecedented growth in the video services industry.
“Our team has managed very complex issues affecting large corporations and entrepreneurial startups, and given our team’s award-winning FiOS project management in North Texas on the legislative, public affairs and public relations front, we can deliver the right combination of resources to many industries,” said managing partner David Russell, former Vice President of External Affairs at Verizon.
“Because Public Policy Solutions partners have operated nationally and in Texas for more than 30 years, we have an extensive network of relationships with local, state and federal leaders that help achieve business goals for existing groups and new entities moving into the economically vibrant region,” said Banta.
