Personnel note: Adam Giery, Jon Menendez join Tampa’s Strategos Group

Adam Giery and Jon Menendez are taking on a new roles as  Public Affairs Principals with Tampa–based public affairs firm Strategos Group.

Giery, one of SaintPeterBlog’s “30 under 30″ rising stars in Florida politics, previously was The Director of Talent, Education and Quality of Life Policies for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Giery has also held positions in Executive Office of the Governor, the Division of Florida Colleges, and the University of Central Florida.

“I’m excited to have Adam join our team,” said Strategos partner Jim Horne. “He is exceptionally bright, a strong advocate for issues and has a great reputation as a young man of capability and integrity.

“I have no doubt that Adam will help strengthen our ability to create client value and extend the reach of our growing firm.”

In his “30 under 30” profile, Giery said he entered politics after a sting as a teacher in public school, when he “quickly realized that we needed to make some serious changes to our state’s education system.”

“I wanted to be a vested stakeholder in the decision making process of our elected officials and that desire led me to Tallahassee,” he added.

Menedez was most recently Director of Governmental Affairs for the Department of Juvenile Justice, as a member of the agency’s executive leadership team. His role has been to set the agency’s legislative agenda, oversee implementation of new laws and lobbying. Under his direction, the agency drafted and managed the passage of the most comprehensive re-write of juvenile justice statutes in 2014.

Menedez previously served as an analyst in the Majority Office of the Florida House of Representatives under then-Majority  Leader (now Lt. Gov.) Carlos Lopez-Cantera. He began his public service career organizing grassroots initiatives for the 2008 Fred Thompson Presidential Campaign, as well as Director of Appointments in the Executive Office of Governor Jeb Bush, from 2004-2005.

In the private sector, Menendez served as Project Manager for Parish Group, a prominent North Florida commercial real estate developer and in the  human resources department at MGT of America, a national management consulting firm.