Dr. Jeffrey Sharkey is President of Capitol Alliance Group, Inc (CAG) one of the premier strategic business development and government relations consulting firms in Florida, specializing in the field of education, transportation, affordable housing development and finance, entertainment, telecommunications, criminal justice and economic development. Dr. Sharkey brings a unique blend of business, government and academic experience to the company, building on the extensive client and community relationships he has cultivated across the state over the last decade and a half. With a strong professional background in the private and public sectors, Dr. Sharkey specializes in strategic policy planning and analysis, issue advocacy and problem management, and government relations. His areas of expertise include K-12 and higher education, environmental sustainability, airport, seaport and intermodal transportation and infrastructure financing, affordable housing development and financing, multifaceted community economic development, telecommunications and advanced information technologies, and local and state government finance.
In addition, Dr. Sharkey has been actively involved in statewide issue campaigns for over fifteen years, providing him rare insight into the politics and an ability to shape successful community development projects. He has been successful in creating, mobilizing and evaluating public policy issues and trends to position his clients to prepare and take advantage of new challenges and opportunities occurring in the arenas of state and local governments. He is ultimately familiar with the dynamics that are created when local, state and national politics intersect with the desire to shape public policy in the local, Legislative or Executive branches of government. For those interested in developing high quality affordable housing, this translates into building positive support for the client projects using state, local and private funds.
Drawing on his professional interest in international education and economic development, Dr. Sharkey has held a variety of positions in state government prior to launching his public policy advocacy career. He has been Director of International Education for the State of Florida, Advisor to the Governor for International Affairs, Director of the Florida Hemispheric Policy Studies Center, and Director of the Florida Inter-American Scholarship Foundation. He began his professional career as a teacher and school administrator and has worked in England, Thailand, Latin America and in other parts of the world as a consultant for various international agencies.
A native of Minnesota, he holds a B.S. degree in English, a M.Ed. in Educational Research from the University of MN, a M.S. in Sociology and Economics and a Ph.D. from Florida State University in Educational Policy Foundations and International Development.