Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced the addition of three new communications professionals to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Communications.
Natasha Sutherland will serve as Deputy Director of Communications, María Carolina “Maca” Casado will serve as Director of Hispanic Media, and Sarah Solomon will serve as Digital Director. The three new staff members will report to Director of Communications Franco Ripple.
“Communicating all the ways in which our department helps keep Florida growing – promoting our $137 billion agriculture community, protecting our consumers from scams, fraud, and abuse, advocating for energy efficiency and cleaner water, ensuring our children are fed at school, and touching the lives of Floridians every day – is so important,” said Commissioner Nikki Fried. “Natasha, Maca, and Sarah each have deep professional experience, profound creative vision, and a great appreciation for the various missions of FDACS, and I’m excited to welcome them to our team sharing our work for Floridians with the state and nation.”
Natasha Sutherland, MA, MST: Natasha joins the department after serving as Deputy Director of Communications at the Florida House Democratic Caucus, Office of the Minority Leader, where she previously served as a Legislative Policy Analyst. She began her service in the Legislature as a Journal Editor in the Florida House of Representatives. A speaker of three languages, she has served as an adjunct professor and language instructor at the Florida State University, Troy University, and Central Texas College, along with K-12 teaching experience. A military spouse, she worked with active-duty servicemembers, veterans, and their families to navigate civilian employment, education, and VA services as a transition assistance counselor while stationed in Germany. Natasha has earned three degrees from the Florida State University, including a Bachelor of Arts in Italian and Spanish Language, a Master of Arts in Italian Studies, and a Master of Science in Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education. Natasha joined FDACS on January 25.
María Carolina “Maca” Casado: Maca will spearhead the department’s outreach to statewide Hispanic media and will be based in Miami, and most recently served as Regional Press Secretary for the Biden-Harris presidential campaign in Florida. Previously, she served as Press Secretary for former U.S. Representative Donna Shalala’s 2018 campaign, as Hispanic Press Director for the David Richardson for Congress campaign, and as Hispanic Press Secretary for the Hillary for America presidential campaign in Florida. Maria has also served as a Senior Producer for TV Venezuela in Miami and as Chief Editor of International News for Glóbovision in Caracas, Venezuela. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Media Communication from Universidad Santa Maria in Venezuela, and a Certificate in News, TV, and Radio from Universidad Central de Venezuela. Maca joined FDACS on February 1.
Sarah Solomon: Sarah serves as the Governance and Media Production Coordinator at the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, serving as multimedia point person on numerous digital, video, and social media initiatives. She has also served as Lead Videographer and Editor at Unique Video Creations in Tallahassee, and previously served in the Panama City office of former U.S. Representative Gwen Graham, providing constituent services and in-district media relations and video. Sarah began her career as a general assignment reporter for WMBB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Panama City, where she covered the station’s county government beat. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of West Florida. Sarah will join FDACS on February 15.
About the FDACS Office of Communications: The Office of Communications informs the public and the media about programs, policies, and initiatives of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, including agriculture, consumer protection, energy and water, food and nutrition, forestry, and the 19 divisions of the $1.7 billion state agency. Since January 2019, the Office of Communications has helped FDACS reach more than 158 million newspaper and print readers, more than 189 million television and radio viewers and listeners, and earned more than 714 million impressions on social media.
