Your team-oriented firm

Headshot of Julee Malinowski-Ball.

Julee Malinowski-Ball

“Everyday, I get the opportunity to turn ideas and objectives into tangible results. I relish dealing with differing interests, sweating the details and working down to the wire to make something work.”

 

Armand Feliciano

“To succeed in the legislative and regulatory arena, it is fundamental to plan and execute for your clients. It is also essential to think outside the box and find alternate paths forward when the legislative or regulatory terrain changes. With our collective and diverse experience, the PPA team stands ready to traverse the ever-shifting California public policy landscape to help our clients achieve their desired outcome.”

Photo of Obed Franco.

Obed Franco

“Lobbying is about forging relationships and advocating for change; it's where progress meets the machinery of legislation in California.”

Audra Hartmann

“Working closely with clients, policy makers and stakeholders, to find common ground or better understand and respect differences on complex policy issues is a challenge I enjoy. Our clients appreciate the fact that our team is a trusted resource in Capitol offices, both legislative and administration, across state agencies and with a variety of diverse interests.”

Headshot of Russell Noack.

Russell Noack

“The vast majority of our clients have been with the firm for a long time. We work very hard to build and maintain strong relationships with our clients. The people, the associations and the companies for whom we work, know that we will be there for them when they need us.”

 
Photo of Julee Malinowski-Ball.

Every day, I get the opportunity to turn ideas and objectives into tangible results. I relish dealing with differing interests, sweating the details and working down to the wire to make something work.

Julee Malinowski-Ball

Julee knew public policy was in her future after taking her first California government class in high school. She began her lobbying career as legislative director for a non-profit environmental organization where she was responsible for representing the organization’s interests before the State Legislature as well as building grassroots support for its policies and programs.

From there, she moved to Edson + Modisette, where she spent five years working with and learning from two of Sacramento’s most prominent energy consultants – David Modisette and Karen Edson – representing non-utility power plant developers, industrial consumers, major oil and gas companies, and utilities with regard to electric transportation issues. Specifically, Julee is considered one of Sacramento’s top energy and environmental consultants and has advocated on behalf of her clients policies related to climate, air quality, renewable energy, water quality, supply and infrastructure, distributed generation, forest health and low carbon transportation.

Julee’s experience includes working not only with the Legislature, but also with the State’s many regulatory agencies, Boards and Commissions, including the California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board. Her quick wit and ability to articulate positions succinctly and persuasively has made her a stand-out in any policy making arena.

Julee received a degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in Government Studies from California State University, Sacramento.

 
 
Photo of Audra Hartmann.

Working closely with clients, policy makers and stakeholders, to find common ground or better understand and respect differences on complex policy issues is a challenge I enjoy. Our clients appreciate the fact that our team is a trusted resource in Capitol offices, both legislative and administration, across state agencies and with a variety of diverse interests.

Audra Hartmann

Audra has been involved in or at the forefront of major climate and energy policy in California for the past 20 years. She is considered an expert in these areas and provides strategic advice and advocacy on legislative and regulatory issues. Prior to joining PPA, Audra was a partner with Smith, Watts & Hartmann, a boutique California advocacy and consulting firm that specialized in energy and transportation issues. Before that, she was the owner and CEO of Hartmann Strategies Group. 

During Audra’s tenure at these firms, she has been involved in negotiations on the cap and trade   program. She has represented large industrial clients in wildfire-related policy discussions and has been an instrumental part of coalitions to defeat measures that would have imposed additional procurement costs on ratepayers. Additionally, she has been involved in demand response, energy efficiency, microgrid, and renewable fuel discussions for clients. Audra’s clients have included California manufacturers, a large array of energy-related companies, a major water authority, probate officials, and several investment firms that were seeking the latest information on legislative and regulatory developments.

In addition to her work as a contract lobbyist, Audra has over 13 years of experience working as an in-house lobbyist for Duke Energy, Dynegy, LS Power, and NextEra Energy across the western United States. Her work focused on passing state environmental, climate, and tax legislation. She also assisted the companies’ development teams with environmental permitting issues related to wind and solar energy facilities. Prior to working with these large companies, Audra worked as a legislative aide/director for California State Senators Bill Leonard and Dick Monteith. She worked as a liaison in the government affairs office of the California Public Utilities Commission, and she spent a year and a half working for the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. Because of these efforts, Audra has direct knowledge of how the state legislature and agencies operate. 

Audra currently serves as a board member of the Institute of Governmental Advocates, a non-partisan association that represents professional lobbyists and lobbying associations. In 2013, she obtained the rank of first-degree black belt (Jo Kyo Nim) in Kuk Sool Won, a Korean martial art. Audra attended the University of Southern California and majored in public administration. She was admitted under the Resident Honor Program, a program that allows high school students to enter college a year early.

 
 
Photo of Armand Feliciano.

To succeed in the legislative and regulatory arena, it is fundamental to plan and execute for your clients. It is also essential to think outside the box and find alternate paths forward when the legislative or regulatory terrain changes. With our collective and diverse experience, the PPA team stands ready to traverse the ever-shifting California public policy landscape to help our clients achieve their desired outcome.

Armand Feliciano

Armand is a partner and General Counsel at PPA. He is a government relations professional with deep and broad public and private sector experience. His keen understanding of California government and extensive political relationships were formed by working for the executive and legislative branches of state government. Armand served as Deputy Legislative Secretary for Governor Gray Davis, Deputy Attorney General for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, and Legislative Budget Consultant for the Senate Budget Committee chaired by Senator Al Alquist, and Assembly Budget Committee chaired by Assembly member Denise Ducheny.

At PPA, Armand represents business clients in the insurance, health, hotel, technology, and transportation sectors, as well as national trade organizations at the legislature. Additionally, on behalf of PPA clients, he works with various state departments on regulatory matters, including the California Department of Insurance, California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and the California Privacy Protection Agency. He also represents non-profit organizations such as the Asian Law Caucus.

Prior to joining Public Policy Advocates, Armand was Counsel for Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips where he represented fortune 500 hundred companies.

Before that he served as Vice President of Government Relations for the American Property Insurance Association of America, the nation’s largest property casualty insurance trade organization. There he represented personal, commercial, and surplus line insurers in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, and Utah.

Armand’s property casualty insurance policy expertise includes Proposition 103 auto insurance, credit scoring, e-delivery, homeowners’ coverage, insuretech, sharing economy, telematics, wildfire coverage, and workers’ compensation. He also possesses a unique understanding of California’s healthcare system, having previously worked as Legislative Director for Anthem Blue Cross (now Elevance Health) and Regulatory Advocate for the California Medical Association, California’s largest physician trade organization.

One of Armand’s key California legislative accomplishments was leading the advocacy effort that resulted in the passage of legislation requiring transportation network companies to provide automobile insurance for their drivers, which served as a national model for other states after Governor Jerry Brown signed it.

Armand is a board member of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Institute where he participates in mentoring and leadership programs.  He is also a board director for Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company, a leading professional liability carrier in California.

He obtained his BA from the University of California, Riverside, was selected to participate in the California State Senate Fellows Program and earned his JD from the University of California College of the Law.  He enjoys spending time with his wife Hilary, daughters Sofia and Ella, and pet dog Kuma.  In his spare time, he chases eagles, birdies, pars, and tries hard to avoid bogeys with his Girl Dad Golf Group.

 
 
Photo of Russell Noack.

The vast majority of our clients have been with the firm for a long time. We work very hard to build and maintain strong relationships with our clients. The people, the associations and the companies for whom we work, know that we will be there for them when they need us.

Russell Noack

Russell has more than 40 years experience in government affairs, during which he has developed an unsurpassed expertise in complex insurance issues. After obtaining his law degree and his admission to the Bar, Russell served as legal counsel and government relations manager for Industrial Indemnity Company, a major California insurance company.

Russell’s unique ability to bring people together on controversial issues and achieve his clients’ objectives is exceptional. His knowledge of such issues has not gone unnoticed. California Lawyer magazine named him one of the ten most powerful lawyer-lobbyists in California.

Russell has represented the Association of California Insurance Companies and the American Insurance Association. During this period, he was an instrumental leader in shaping reforms of the state’s Workers Compensation System.

Throughout his professional career, Russell has worked on a broad spectrum of issues while representing fire chiefs and districts, natural resource entities, financial institutions, airlines and health care professional organizations.

Russell received a bachelors degree in history from the University of California, Davis and his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

 
 

Lobbying is about forging relationships and advocating for change; it's where progress meets the machinery of legislation in California.

Obed Franco

Obed, a seasoned legislative and campaign professional, brings to the PPA Team nearly a decade of experience working in the upper echelon of California politics. Initially hired in 2015 as an Assistant to then-Chair of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee, Assembly Member Anthony Rendon, Obed quickly rose through the ranks, ultimately working seven years as Special Assistant to Speaker Rendon. In this role, he became the Speaker’s trusted advisor, tasked with facilitating high-level Member and government agency interactions, effective Member management, developing and implementing legislative strategies, and critical day-to-day operations of a multifaceted, fast-paced office. His expert knowledge of legislative processes and the critical dynamics of California politics have made him a key player in the California State Capitol.  Originally hailing from Pasadena, Obed is bilingual, an avid sports fan, movie buff, and a devoted husband and dog dad. Obed attended Arizona State University and studied Biological Sciences.