BJK Consulting
Who is Benjamin J. Kirby?
BJK Consulting is a strategic communications firm, leveraging decades of experience to help identify and engage your audiences. If you want to ensure your messaging is authentic as well as purposeful, then contact us – let’s get started.
Benjamin J. Kirby is a communications professional with thirty years in politics, federal and local government, the nonprofit sector, and advocacy. A dedicated servant leader, he applies his expertise and experience in an array of disciplines, including: writing, editing, media relations, social media, public policy, and politics. He has served in a variety of volunteer and leadership roles in state and national political campaigns.
Benjamin J. Kirby
From 2014 to 2022, he served as the Communications Director for St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. As the chief spokesman for the mayor, he developed and distributed information from the Mayor’s Office to the news media and promoted mayoral initiatives through media exposure. He was the chief point of contact for local media to Mayor Kriseman. He also drafted press releases, advisories, speeches, talking points and related presentations and information, and advised on social media content for the mayor and deputy mayor.
Previously, he served as an advocate for at-risk youth and underprivileged families as the Communications Manager for the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB), a Pinellas County governmental authority which provides critical social services. Benjamin served in healthcare education and advocacy roles as well, in communications leadership capacities for the American Association of Kidney Patients and the Parkinson’s Action Network.
Benjamin served on the Board of the National Association of Planning Councils (NAPC), including as Board Secretary. He was also a member of NAPC Forward, a group of young leaders working to promote the work of NAPC for the future.
Before healthcare and family advocacy, he served in staff and volunteer capacities in local and statewide political campaigns in Florida, Arkansas, and Virginia. Benjamin served as Field Director for Arkansas' first female gubernatorial nominee, Jimmie Lou Fisher, and as Campaign Manager for Jan Schneider’s first bid against Katherine Harris for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 13th Congressional District. His first campaign was with the Clinton/Gore Presidential Campaign of 1992 in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.
From 1993 through 2001, Benjamin held a variety of staff positions in the Clinton Administration. He was the first Public Affairs Officer of the United States Parole Commission, part of the United States Justice Department. He also served on the staff of the First Lady’s White House Millennium Council, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of Presidential Personnel.
Born in western North Carolina and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Benjamin now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife, Kendra, and his children, Emeline, Finnegan, and Elle. He has a degree in Political Communication from George Mason University.
Purposeful Communication
Decades of Experience
A communications professional with thirty years in politics, federal and local government, the nonprofit sector, and advocacy. A servant leader applying expertise and experience in an array of disciplines, including: writing, editing, media relations, social media, public policy, and politics. Served in a variety of volunteer and leadership roles in state and national political campaigns. Award-winning work spans decades.
BJK Consulting
727-501-4837
BJKConsultingfl@gmail.com