- March 4, 2025
Milissa Holland is not one to stay away from public policy for too long.
This time last year, she was sitting on the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners while campaigning against Travis Hutson for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives. She lost, but now has announced that she has joined Southern Strategy Group, a lobbying firm.
As part of her duties, Holland will be leading the firm in a new division that represents local governments across the state of Florida — something her time on the County Commission has prepared her for.
“I believe, very strongly, that local governments need representation and need a voice,” Holland said.
The career move gives Holland the opportunity she craves to make an impact on public policy. And while lobbying firms sometimes draw suspicion, Holland said that the Southern Strategy Group, whose clients include Disney and Wells Fargo, is exactly the kind of organization she wants to be working for.
“Everyone gets a bad name in the public realm,” Holland said. “It sort of comes with the territory of what I’ve been a part of my whole life. My hope is to change some of the perceptions out there, and help people see that there are good firms out there who are wanting to provide representation to those who need it.”
Holland said that during her time as a county commissioner, she saw firsthand how difficult it is to get local governments’ interests on the forefront of state legislators’ minds.
“Unfunded mandates are really something that hits local governments hard during budget times,” Holland said, adding that sometimes local governments are unaware of certain changes being passed because minute details in the language of bills shifts costs to local governments.
“Really, the local communities are having to pick up the tab for decisions made in Tallahassee,” Holland said. “My hope going into this is that I’ve been there, I’ve understood it, I’ve watched it — and I feel for them.”
Holland, who works largely from her home office in Palm Coast but who also has offices in Jacksonville and Tallahassee, said there are not yet any local governments who are clients of the Southern Strategy Group, though she hopes she will be able to change that.
After losing the election to Hutson, Holland began writing a column and hosting a radio show before she came down with bronchial pneumonia, which kept her bedridden and out of public view for months. She has recovered now, though, and says she is ready for the new chapter of her life.
And as for returning to politics, Holland is unsure whether that will happen in the future. Right now, she is excited for her new position and the impact she might be able to make.
“I try to live in the moment, and I focus on what I’m currently engaged and involved in,” Holland said, an outlook she adopted after losing a large number of close family members, including both of her parents, in the span of 10 years.
“I’ve certainly suffered a lot of loss,” Holland said. “It’s really given me a perspective on how to live life and how to value what matters.”
