Arthur R. Collins

Art Collins (born March 16, 1960) is President and Chief Executive Officer of Public Private Partnership, Inc., an independent strategic planning and political consulting firm. The firm provides strategic advice to multinational corporations, political campaigns, elected leaders, nonprofit and government organizations, and issue groups.

Biography

Collins serves as a member of the Board of Directors and as Treasurer of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Political Action Committee and the CBC Political Education & Leadership Institute. He currently serves as Senior Political Strategist for the presumptive United States Presidential Democratic Nominee U.S. Senator Barack Obama. In 2004, Collins was Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator John Kerry, the democratic presidential nominee, during his campaign for President of the United States. In 1990, he served as campaign manager for Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Leander J. Shaw, Jr. He was also a member of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Democratic Business Council during the tenure of DNC Chairman Ron Brown.

In 1982, Collins started his professional career as a systems engineer and account marketing representative at the IBM Corporation. During 1987 and 1988 he served as a Deputy Receiver and Legislative Affairs Director with the Florida Department of Insurance.

Collins was appointed in 1989 by the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives to the position of Staff Director for the Office of Black Affairs providing technical and political support to African-American legislators. Collins founded Public Private Partnership, Inc. in December 1989.

Art Collins is the husband of Sela Thompson Collins and has five children. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and is a Freemason.

Public Service

Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed Collins in 2001 to the Board of Trustees of Florida A&M University, the largest public Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in America, where he was elected its first Chairman. Following his tenure as a U.S. Senator, the late former Florida Governor Lawton Chiles appointed Collins to the Florida Small and Minority Business Advisory Council and the Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board, where he served on the investment committee overseeing over $2 billion in investments. Collins was also appointed by former U.S. Senator and then Florida Governor Bob Graham to serve on the Governor’s Business Advisory Council on Education and the State Board of Independent Postsecondary Vocational, Technical, Trade and Business Schools. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Bob Crawford appointed Collins to the Florida Consumers' Council, where he served as its Chairman.

Education

Collins received his B.S. degree in Accounting in 1982 from the School of Business and Industry at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Florida. He has studied law at the University of Miami School of Law in Miami, Florida and abroad at the University of Montpellier in Montpellier, France.

External links

* [http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/28/obama-sees-very-good-odds-of-victory/trackback/ Obama Sees ‘Very Good’ Odds of Victory]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-175631667.html Anatomy of a moment: how team Obama & Black America are making history.(Cover story)]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-95876661.html John Kerry Assembles Senior Level Team of African American Staffers]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-120698931.html Democrtaic Presidential Nominee John Kerry attends Urban League Convention]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43408-2004Oct18.html Democrtas Role Out the Stars]
* [http://www.cbcinstitute.org/ Congressional Black Caucus Political Education & Leadership Institute]
* [http://cbcpac.com/ Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_16_18/ai_79743142 FAMU Board of Trustees Elects Chairman]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77198604.html University Leader Cheers on New Trustees Board at Alumni Convention in Florida]