Drew Wilson
Education management consulting firm Strategos Group is announcing a home-run hire with the addition of former Rep. Vance Aloupis.
Aloupis, who served two terms in the House before declining to run for re-election last year, joins the Strategos team as a partner as the firm expands into the Miami market. He brings with him years of experience in education policy.
“Vance’s acumen is only surpassed by his incredible character and leadership,” said Adam Giery, Managing Partner of Strategos Group. “Over the past decade, Vance has tirelessly championed the evolution of early childhood education while leading an emerging organization to statewide significance. His addition to our team furthers our mission of helping students thrive in their health care and education outcomes.”
During his time in the House, Aloupis built a reputation as a fervid proponent of policies to improve outcomes for Florida students, as well as legislation that would foster the home environments he and early learning experts agree are necessary for classroom success.
His tenure also included a term chairing the House Early Learning and Elementary Education Subcommittee. The leadership post was aligned with the Miami Republican’s career in the private and nonprofit sectors. Aloupis also served on the Education and Employment Committee, PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee and the Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee, among others.
Known as a thoughtful and measured lawmaker, Aloupis successfully ushered numerous education bills through the Legislature during his four years in the House. Among them was a bill — now law — creating the Division of Early Learning and establishing systems by which voluntary prekindergarten programs can identify literacy and math skill deficiencies.
He later sponsored a bill, which Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed, that extended the program through eighth grade and established the Reading Achievement Initiative for Scholastic Excellence (RAISE) program to boost student literacy.
A lawyer by trade, Aloupis was until recently CEO of The Children’s Movement of Florida, a nonprofit organization focused on boosting the quality and availability of educational programs for Florida’s youngest students.
As both a lawmaker and as the leader of the Children’s Movement, Aloupis has been an unceasing advocate for education issues, especially early learning. He has been a featured speaker at many agenda-setting events, extolling the importance of kindergarten readiness and how the public and private sectors can help Florida children hit the developmental milestones that are crucial to their long-term academic success.
Given his work in the Legislature and in his career outside of public office, Aloupis has become familiar with the team at Strategos over the years. The firm has many education experts in its ranks, including Giery and former Education Commissioner and state Sen. Jim Horne. Strategos has continued to bolster its education policy credentials, most recently with the addition of Jes Fowler, the former Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Education.
Aloupis said he sees Strategos as a natural fit as he begins the next chapter of his career.
“The dedicated team at Strategos has developed a reputation as a trusted voice on a wide range of education issues, and I can think of no better place to continue my work of improving educational opportunities for all children,” Aloupis said.
“I have had the chance to work with Strategos on numerous occasions during my tenure in the Florida Legislature and at The Children’s Movement. I respect the team’s deep policy knowledge and sincere desire to impact students’ lives. I look forward to establishing our Miami office and working alongside them to further our shared goals.”
Giery added, “Miami’s emergence as an entrepreneurial incubator advanced our decision to establish our newest office in this market. We believe in the future of Miami’s innovator economy and Vance’s leadership to power Strategos forward. By further bolstering our presence in the state, this expansion helps cement Strategos as a leading consulting firm not only in Florida, but across the nation.”
Aloupis earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Miami and worked as a lawyer in private practice before joining The Children’s Movement. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Education program, Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management.
He became involved with The Children’s Movement by way of David Lawrence Jr., the founder and Chair of the nonprofit. Lawrence launched The Children’s Movement after a long career in journalism that included working as the Miami Herald’s publisher from 1989-99, a decade when the paper earned five Pulitzer Prizes.
Since his retirement from media, the UF Journalism Hall of Famer has become one of the foremost early education advocates in Florida and nationwide — he was one of the most vocal supporters of the successful 2002 constitutional amendment establishing the right to a prekindergarten education for all 4-year-olds in the state.
He has also been a mentor to Aloupis and, like his protégé, has often crossed paths with the Strategos’ team. He greeted the hiring announcement with enthusiastic praise, both for Aloupis and the firm.
“Vance has made extraordinary contributions these past dozen years to building an early learning movement,” Lawrence said. “We have used the wisdom and expertise of Strategos for years now, and I am delighted that we will be able to work alongside Vance and Strategos in the future.”
Strategos Group has offices in Tampa, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Miami, as well as Idaho, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, D.C. In addition to representing education interests, it offers counsel and advocacy services in the health care and technology industries.
