Cristina Rose
Cristina was one of California’s first women lobbyists in Sacramento when she began advocating on behalf of California’s consumers in 1972. Today, she is widely recognized as an expert in the California legislative and political process by industry, academia, current and prospective officeholders, and media.
In 1987, Cristina co-founded Rose & Kindel, a leading California public affairs firm providing governmental, community and media relations services through its offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento. She served as Chairman until the firm was acquired in 2004 by a publicly traded international public affairs and public relations company, Huntsworth plc.; and, following the acquisition, served as Senior Managing Director and CEO of Rose & Kindel and of Grayling, the firm’s communications offering. Among the more than 700 clients the firm represented during her tenure are AT&T, the Recording Industry Association of America, Google, the LA Dodgers, United Airlines, JP Morgan Chase, Fidelity Investments, the City and County of Los Angeles, and American Express.
Cristina currently serves as President and CEO of Rose Policy Solutions, providing strategic counsel, issues management, and reputation management to clients on a variety of public policy and crisis management projects.
Cristina began her career in government, working for the California Department of Consumer Affairs. She served as the Department’s chief lobbyist appointed by Gov. Ronald Reagan and re-appointed by then first-time Gov. Edmund G.(Jerry) Brown, Jr., and, as reported in the Sacramento Bee, was known at the time as "...one of the most effective spokesmen for consumer affairs in the legislative halls ever". When she was in private practice years later, the Bee described her as "articulate, effective . . . thoroughly well prepared on the issues . . . different from the hundreds of 'hired guns' roaming the committee rooms of the state Capitol".
Following her service in State government, Cristina directed the Sacramento lobbying activities of Winner & Associates, a national contract lobbying and public affairs firm. In this position, she became one of the first public affairs practitioners to meld lobbying and strategic communications in support of a client’s public policy objectives.
Cristina served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mills Corporation, a publicly traded company on the NYSE, until it was acquired in March of 2007, and as a member of the Board of Directors of HMSHost, formerly known as Host Marriott Services.
She has served as Chairman of the Coro Southern California Board of Directors and as a Coro National Board member. She is an Honorary Coro Fellow and recipient of the Coro Endowment Leadership Award. She is a founding member of the California Channel Board of Directors, the equivalent of CSPAN for state government, and served as Vice President of the Los Angeles Environmental Quality Commission, as a member of the California Journal Editorial Advisory Board, the California Journal Foundation Board of Directors, and as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the American Council of Young Political Leaders. She is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Claremont University Consortium, and a member of the boards of directors of the California Historical Society, the Metropolitan YMCA, and LA’s Best, an afterschool youth program. She is also a member of the Pacific Council on International Relations, the International Women’s Forum, and Women Corporate Directors.
Cristina and her partner were honored to receive the Los Angeles Business Council "Woman of the Year" award; the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners “Advocate of the Year” award, and the "Courageous Leader" award from Women Against Gun Violence. Cristina was given the first and only "Trailblazer Award" at the annual Statewide Women's Conference, sponsored by California's women legislators; and in 2010, along with California Controller John Chaing and LA Police Chief Charlie Beck, received the prestigious Coro Crystal Eagle award for extraordinary contribution to the civic life of the State of California.
With her experience in California politics and strategic insight in designing effective public affairs strategies, Ms. Rose has become a frequent guest lecturer to industry, professional groups and university classes.
A native of California, Cristina holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from UCLA. She lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband of 30 years, Scott FitzRandolph. In her free time, she enjoys her extended family, reading, hiking, biking and skiing.