Chris Berardi

Each week the Cape Coral Breeze will feature a leader within the business community — public sector, private sector, or non-profit — asking a dozen questions that focus on the person and the business in which they hold a leadership role.

Bio:

Name: Chris Berardi

Position: Communications director for Congressman Francis Rooney

Company or organization: United States House of Representatives

Industry: Government

Contact information: Chris.Berardi@mail.house.gov

Your business at a glance:

What you do: Craft messaging for our legislative agenda and constituent services that is clear, concise and meaningful to the people we serve and to the nation that we seek to ensue remains the greatest on earth.

Unique niche: Influencing passage of good legislation and the defeat of bad legislation by highlighting pros versus cons and building support for our position through persuasive communication

Bragging rights: Leading our team’s communication efforts to over 770,000 Lee and Collier county residents, plus national television, radio, print and online media outlets. In total, we’ve done over 500 interviews and more than 40 guest opinions in 40 months.

Where you see yourself in 5 years: Back home in Southwest Florida, putting the skills, advice and connections from my time in Washington, D.C. (aka “The Swamp”) to good use serving our community

About you:

Describe in one word: Consistent. (After running for office, serving on our City Council, having a weekly radio segment and speaking on numerous issues, a friend remarked that I was a “Consistent Conservative” — and I liked it!)

Hero: President Ronald Reagan — The reason for my interest in politics and my conservative leaning belief system is because of Reagan. Watching, as an elementary and high schooler, the transformation of the country from gloomy malaise to the “Shining City on a Hill” was captivating. Reagan’s ability to pursue his goals with class, humor, and humility, was heroic.

Mentor: Councilman Jim Jeffers — Nobody was more personally instrumental in teaching me how to turn vision into governance. Jim was what I aspire to be — a statesman, not a politician. In addition, he taught me that no obstacle is too great to overcome as you follow life’s journey.

Person you’d like to meet: Benjamin Franklin — Founding Father, author, inventor, statesman, diplomat and philosopher. What a life!

Book that changed your life: “Team of Rivals,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin — A lesson in building consensus and gaining the respect of a diverse and sometimes adversarial group of people to advance your cause.

Best business advice you’ve ever received: 1) That what gets rewarded gets repeated. 2) Aggressively delegate tasks to the lowest capable level. 3) In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. 4) (Especially applicable to social media, but works for real life, too) Live your life outside the comments section.

Biggest risk you’ve ever taken: Changing careers from full-time Realtor to full-time political consultant.

Personal passion: Advancing the ideals of conservative, free-market principles, constitutional governance, federalism and the belief that man is not free unless government is limited.

Guilty pleasure: Season tickets for the World Series Champion Washington Nationals #GoNats!