Senior-level counsel at the nexus of government, community, and media relations.
For leaders navigating complex, regulated, and highly visible environments.
Founded by Kerri Richardson | National Communicator of the Year
Most leaders who call Connexus aren’t looking for just a news release. They’re navigating something bigger: a group that doesn’t have all the facts, a community that doesn’t yet trust the institution, a policy that’s misunderstood, a plan that faces opposition.
The work matters deeply and they feel the weight of getting it right.
Many firms specialize in one discipline. Connexus is fluent in three, operating at the nexus of government relations, community relations, and media relations.
We translate complex policy into clear executive guidance and build the path forward.
We start with questions and planning. Strategy always comes first.
Relationships and institutional experience from the governor’s office, mayor’s office, and beyond.
We operate from nationally recognized work on high-stakes initiatives.
Connexus doesn’t operate like a traditional PR firm. This is a focused suite of senior-level services built around strategy, message development, audience refinement and communications planning.
Connexus PR acts as an extension of your executive team, assessing your existing communications practices against your goals and identifying strengths, gaps and opportunities. New strategies are developed in collaboration with each business function, because communications built in a silo always collapse. Fractional CMO and CCO services available.
Sharp, memorable messages that sound like they came from a real person, not a corporate jukebox.
Smart, simple, reality-based plans that help your organization speak in one voice. We help you know what to say, when to say it, and exactly who needs to hear it.
Experienced guidance when you need to communicate quickly and effectively with multiple audiences without losing control of the message.
Real connections, authentic influence, and a lived-in understanding of Kentucky’s communities and political landscape that goes well beyond party affiliation.
Smart, strategic media visibility that emphasizes quality over quantity with stories that build credibility and reach the audiences that actually matter to your goals.
Ready to elevate your story and create meaningful visibility? Share your goals with us, and we’ll explore how the right strategy and messaging can move your business forward.
Connexus works with mid-sized to large organizations, government agencies, mission-driven nonprofits, educational institutions, and regulated industries navigating complex stakeholder environments, policy change, public scrutiny, or transformational moments.
Awarded by the National Association of Government Communicators in 2014, recognizing Kerri’s leadership of the statewide campaign to launch Kentucky’s health insurance marketplace, one of the most effective healthcare policy communications programs in the country.
As Governor Steve Beshear’s communications director, Kerri led the statewide communications and marketing campaign to educate Kentuckians about the Affordable Care Act, the federal law expanding access to health insurance, and encourage them to enroll through Kentucky’s own portal, Kynect.
At the time of launch, nearly 1 in 5 Kentuckians had no health insurance. In two years, that number was cut nearly in half, dropping from 18.8% to 6.8%, one of the largest reductions in the country. More than 500,000 Kentuckians signed up for health coverage, many for the first time, through targeted advertising, earned media, and trusted community voices reaching people where they were.
18%
6.8%
500,000
Kerri led communications for a ballot initiative asking Jefferson County voters to approve funding for long-overdue school improvements. The district’s newest high school had been built in the 1950s. Running a two-month sprint at the height of Covid, the bipartisan campaign generated 75M+ impressions and nearly $1M in earned media value. The measure passed, delivering millions in new funding for nearly 100,000 students.
75 Million
$1Million
Kerri Richardson has spent more than 20 years driving communications strategy in environments that are high-stakes, fast-moving, and squarely in the public eye.
She’s advised governors, mayors, university leaders, CEOs, and nonprofit executives through crises, natural disasters, transformational change, and, as she puts it, “sometimes, plain old bad luck.”
Her career tells the story: television journalist, communications coordinator for Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and communications director and chief spokesperson for Governor Steve Beshear. She spent a decade at a Louisville public relations agency, diversifying its services and driving its growth to the region’s largest PR firm.
In 2026, she founded Connexus PR to do exactly the work she finds most meaningful: helping the organizations that are making life better for Kentuckians to communicate with clarity, strategy, and confidence.
The name Connexus is intentional. Kerri operates at the nexus of government relations, community relations, and media relations. It’s the center of a Venn diagram where few practitioners live. She’s been on both sides of the interviewing microphone. She’s reviewed the P&L. She understands how all these systems work, where they get stuck, and what actually breaks the logjam.
Her superpower is her ability to anticipate how a message will land with different audiences before it’s ever delivered. She talks, writes, and works in plain language. If something goes sideways, she pinpoints the snag and explains what happened. Truth first, then actions.
If you’re facing a high-stakes communications challenge like a policy issue, a reputational risk, a crisis, a major change, or a campaign that needs to move the right people, this is the place to start. Every inquiry is handled with discretion and a direct response from Kerri. Louisville, Kentucky — serving clients regionally and nationally.