Kevin P. Boyd – Chairman of Florida Bulldog. Owner of Boyd Public Relations and former managing editor, Hollywood Sun-Tattler.
Kevin Boyd enjoyed a 17-year, award-winning career as a newspaper reporter and editor for such major news providers as the Chicago Tribune Co., Knight-Ridder, Scripps Howard and United Press International. For the past 19 years, he has worked as a senior account executive and partner/owner at three prominent Florida public relations firms. During his public relations career, Boyd has represented companies and organizations regionally, statewide and nationally, for both privately-owned and publicly-traded companies, as well as educational and non-profit organizations. Boyd has served on Broward’s Charter Review Commission and is an elected officer and member of the board of directors of the nonprofit, nonpartisan legislative advocacy group Broward Days. He has done pro bono work, including fundraising, for a number of charities including the United Way of Broward County, Henderson Mental Health Center, Women in Distress of Broward County, American Cancer Society and Boys and Girls Club of Broward County.
Dan Christensen – Editor, ex officio.
Doug Clifton – Former editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and executive editor of the Miami Herald.
Doug Clifton retired from The Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2007 where he served as editor for eight years. Prior to that he was executive editor of The Miami Herald from 1991 to 1999. The Herald won three Pulitzer prizes under his leadership including the gold medal for meritorious public service and another for investigative reporting. He started his career at The Herald in 1970 and served as a reporter and editor for 17 years. He was news editor of the Knight Ridder Washington bureau and managing editor of the KR owned Charlotte Observer before returning to The Herald as executive editor.
Bonnie Gross – Adjunct professor of multimedia journalism at Florida Atlantic University
Bonnie Gross teaches multimedia journalism at FAU and is the co-founder of the outdoors Florida travel site FloridaRambler.com. She is a digital pioneer with a successful track record developing web strategies and content during 15 years managing content at the Sun-Sentinel. Prior to her online work, Bonnie was an editor and reporter in the Sun-Sentinel newsroom.
Chuck Malkus – President of Malkus Communications Group.
A global best-selling author and TV producer, Malkus is president of Malkus Communications Group, a public relations agency. He provides corporations and non-profit organizations with PR strategies to enhance their brands. He was an executive producer for the hit documentary Netflix series Heist (2021) and his book, Full Circle: The Remarkable True Story, is the basis for an Emmy-nominated ESPN documentary. His leadership with community engagement includes serving as Co-Founder of Neighbors 4 Neighbors, which began with international disaster relief work. He also has served as a board member for the American Red Cross, Junior Achievement, Florida Speakers Association, and Nova Southeastern University’s Library, Research and Information Technology Center. His specialization in ethics involves serving as a keynote speaker for organizations including the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics, Kansas Government Finance Officers Association and Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics.
Hugo H. Ottolenghi — Communications professional and Florida International University faculty member.
As a journalist, he was editorial and research director for Bank Rate Monitor, a national news organization, an editor at the Daily Business Review and Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, and an associate producer at the Nightly Business Report. Today, he is a senior consultant to BoardroomPR and provides marketing services to professionals. He is also a judge for the Simon Rockower Award competition presented by the American Jewish Press Association. At the university, Hugo teaches undergraduate and graduate communications courses and is advisor to two professional-development student organizations. Hugo is the 2023 president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and an active member of the society’s Miami chapter.
Don Silver — Chief Operating Officer of BoardRoom PR
Don Silver brings 30-plus years of successful public relations and marketing management experience working with the state’s top entrepreneurs, corporations, law firms, schools and non-profits on crisis planning, reputation management, public relations, marketing, community outreach, and online and search engine marketing. Prior to joining Boardroom in 1995, he held management positions with companies such as Duracell USA, Forster Manufacturing and Park & Sun Sports. Don is a frequent speaker, moderator and author on topics including how to handle a crisis in your business, designing a crisis plan and dealing with traditional and social media under fire. He is also active in the community where he has been chairman of the board and/or marketing-communications committee in organizations such as NAIOP, Legal Marketing Association, Legal Aid Service/Coast to Coast Legal Aid, Broward Partnership for the Homeless and Gold Coast Venture Capital Association. He is a native Floridian and received his BBA in Marketing from Florida Atlantic University.
Merrett R. Stierheim – Former Miami-Dade County Manager and school superintendent
Merrett R. Stierheim is a highly respected Florida public administrator who served twice as Miami-Dade County manager and later as superintendent of the Miami-Dade Public School system. He was responsible for overseeing construction of landmark Miami-Dade facilities including Metrorail, the People Mover, regional water, sewer, park, library, cultural, seaport, airport, Zoo Miami, and other public facilities. Stierheim is recognized for his ethical, scandal free leadership. He began his public career as a Wharton Graduate Intern in the Miami city manager’s office in 1959, and was assistant city manager for eight years. He also has served as city manager of Clearwater, county administrator of Pinellas County, and city manager of the City of Miami and Miami Lakes. Stierheim ran Women’s professional tennis (WTA) worldwide for four years and served nine years as president of the Miami-Dade Convention and Visitors Bureau. In addition to his masters degree from Wharton he has received honorary doctorate degrees from St. Thomas and Barry Universities. While Stierheim has spent a working lifetime on the other side of the table from the press, he is deeply committed to a strong and unfettered press. He said he considers it an honor to lend his support to the Bulldog and its investigative journalistic mission.
