Alphabetical Listing

Pam Jenkins, President

Pam is president of Powell Tate, a leading public affairs and strategic communications firm based in Washington, D.C., and has been with the agency since 2004. She was named to her role in 2005, after serving as president of healthcare public affairs for Weber Shandwick. Formerly, she served as co-director of a global agency’s health and medical practice, where she worked for almost a decade, focusing particularly on HIV/AIDS, cancer and cardiovascular disease. From 1985 to 1994, Pam managed national and state-based public affairs campaigns for clients in such issue areas as healthcare, alcoholic beverages, taxation and the environment.

At Powell Tate, Pam specializes in communications designed to support or defeat legislation, enhance reputation or prompt healthy behavior change. Current clients include Weight Watchers, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others. Previously, Pam led the team that developed the award-winning Heart Truth/Red Dress Campaign, an initiative to build awareness of heart disease among women. Pam has a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from the University of Colorado and also studied at Harvard University.

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Lance Morgan, Chief Communications Strategist

Lance Morgan is chief communications strategist at Powell Tate. He specializes in developing and executing communications strategies for public policy debates, crisis communications and media training. Lance counsels clients facing national and international media attention because of public policy controversies, congressional oversight hearings, criminal and civil investigations by law enforcement agencies, labor-management negotiations and trade disputes.

Prior to joining the firm, Lance served as spokesman for the U.S. Senate Iran-Contra investigating committee and press secretary to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY). 

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Peter Carson, Executive Vice President

Peter specializes in designing policy maker outreach programs for clients in the healthcare and financial services industries. He has more than 10 years of experience in policy communications including coalition building, third party development and outreach; federal and state coalition building and management; corporate communications; strategic planning; CEO visibility; corporate communications; and, litigation support.

Peter's career began in 1988 working for former Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT) including five years as the Congressman's Chief of Staff.

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Paul Massey, Executive Vice President

Paul is founder and co-lead of the agency’s Social Impact team, a global network that specializes in corporate social responsibility (CSR), public education and social engagement campaigns. He counsels corporations on how to communicate the impact of CSR efforts to build brands and strengthen relationships with employees, consumers, policymakers and other stakeholders.

Paul leads the agency’s work with Bank of America to build awareness and support for its CSR, including its signature Neighborhood Excellence Initiative and environmental sustainability efforts. He manages Weber Shandwick’s global partnership with BSR to advance the organization’s mission to help companies create a just and sustainable world. Previously, he led the agency’s work with Pepsi on its signature Pepsi Refresh Project, an innovative social engagement program to invest $20 million in ideas that strengthen communities. He provided strategic direction and oversight for the firm’s work for Best Buy, including its philanthropy program, @15, and sustainability assignments.

Paul also works with a number of foundations and nonprofits to drive awareness and advocacy across a range of issues, including education, human rights, and arts and culture. His clients have included The MasterCard Foundation, Grameen Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Meals on Wheels Association of America, Monticello and the Washington National Opera. Paul received his Ed.M. from Harvard University and his B.A. from Rutgers University.

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Jim Meszaros, Executive Vice President

Jim is the head of the international practice at Weber Shandwick in Washington and provides strategic counsel and manages campaigns for foreign governments, foundations, multilateral organizations and global corporations. He has worked with clients in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and East Asia. Jim works on a variety of global issues, including trade, foreign investment, development, foreign policy, transnational crime, human rights and the environment. His client work incorporates a variety of communications disciplines, including message development, media relations, stakeholder relations, digital communications, research, event management and speechwriting.

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Victoria Sneed, Executive Vice President, KRC Research

Victoria specializes in qualitative and quantitative research for message development, social marketing campaigns, branding and reputation, and issues management. She offers strategic counsel on creating and fostering relationships with key stakeholders, employees, customers, suppliers, donors and members, and consumers.

At KRC, Victoria has directed large-scale research for a wide range of corporations and trade associations, including Best Buy, Reliant Pharmaceuticals, MasterCard, Microsoft, Bank of America, Essilor, Ingenix, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Actuaries, State Farm, the Alliance for American Advertising, Providence Health & Services, Omni Hotels, Northrop Grumman and Pfizer.

In addition, with particular expertise in public education and communication campaigns, Victoria has led research programs for a wide range of international and domestic nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Her clients have included Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the American Library Association, ONE, the Grameen Foundation, the MAC AIDS Fund, the Kellogg Foundation, the Arcus Foundation, The MasterCard Foundation, National Public Radio, Meals on Wheel Association of America, Lincoln Cottage, the Newseum, the Dallas Zoo, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the American Council on Education, the GED® Testing Service, the National League of Cities, the Hazelden Foundation, Harvard Business School, Rice University and the American Association of Poison Control Centers. 

Michael Stopford , Executive Vice President and Senior Global Corporate Strategist

Michael is a key strategic resource for Powell Tate’s global corporate clients, focusing primarily on corporate reputation and social responsibility. Michael has past experience with multinational companies such as Coca-Cola, Syngenta International and ExxonMobil. He successfully launched ExxonMobil’s first CSR program and led the company’s community engagement in Nigeria, designing and managing sustainable partnerships between ExxonMobil and the World Bank.

Stephanie Bluma, SVP/Management Supervisor, Creative Director

Stephanie specializes in the creation of issue advocacy and public education campaigns. She currently works with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on their global development, global health and foundation communications. She also oversees a campaign on college access for Lumina Foundation and the American Council on Education. This multi-platform effort involves coordinating and supporting the work on 15 state coalitions and several national partners. She has previously used her creative, strategic and media skills to develop education campaigns for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, Save Darfur Coalition and America’s Promise. Prior to joining Powell Tate, Stephanie served as deputy press secretary to former U.S. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, developing message strategy, implementing outreach initiatives and serving as a spokeswoman.

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Emil Hill, SVP/Management Supervisor

Emil develops integrated communications campaigns on behalf of government and corporate clients. His current clients include the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Reserve, the Tiger Woods Foundation and Federal Realty, a leading real estate investment trust. As a senior counselor for U.S. Army’s Army Strong Campaign, Emil manages a broad range of program activity across Weber Shandwick offices. On behalf of the Army Reserve, he provides ongoing strategic counsel to help communicate the Chief of the Army Reserve’s priorities and objectives. Before joining Powell Tate, Emil worked with Manning Selvage & Lee, where he directed integrated communications programs for corporate, nonprofit and government clients including Verizon, National Geographic Foundation, the U.S. Army and George Washington University.

Eric Hoffman, SVP/Management Supervisor

With 18 years of public affairs experience, Eric is an expert at devising and executing strategic communications programs that achieve legislative, regulatory and reputational goals. Eric’s issue portfolio focuses on highly regulated industries, including healthcare and financial services. His current clients include the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, MasterCard Worldwide, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., American Financial Services Association and the National Automobile Dealers Association. During Eric’s career, he was worked in public affairs agencies, on Capitol Hill, for political candidates and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Clare Lynam, SVP/Management Supervisor

Clare manages a variety of association, corporate and nonprofit strategic communications and public affairs campaigns on behalf of clients in various industries and has organized the office’s new business efforts. Her hands-on agency experience and her Capitol Hill background make her well-suited for clients in the financial services, energy, defense, technology, healthcare and insurance sectors, among others, enabling her to support their needs in areas such as crisis management, coalition building, event planning, online communications and media relations.

Clare’s diverse client base has included Bank of America, the 2010 Census, U.S. Army Reserve and the American Council of Life Insurers, as well as the Wellness Community, a nonprofit that supports cancer caregivers, and Network Appliance, a data storage company. For many years, Clare managed the public affairs activities for Ingersoll-Rand. Her work involved developing corporate and grassroots communications for lawmakers about the company’s positions on various public policy issues that affect its business. Previously, Clare served as press secretary to U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK). At several Republican National Conventions, Clare supported the conventions’ media relations teams onsite.

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Colin Moffett, SVP/Management Supervisor, Digital Communications

Colin develops comprehensive social advocacy campaigns for corporate, nonprofit and government clients. He has spent more than a decade working with organizations to leverage the power of digital strategies to engage people and ignite advocates. Colin served as the digital lead for both Best Buy's corporate social responsibility program, called @15, and the Pepsi Refresh Project. He currently directs cross-functional teams on behalf of a wide variety of clients including The MasterCard Foundation, the American Council on Education and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Before joining Powell Tate, Colin worked with the interactive firm, Virilion Inc., where he led award-winning campaigns and interactive projects for public affairs campaigns and nonprofits.

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Victoria Baxter, Senior Vice President

Victoria creates strategic communications plans and public education programs for nonprofit and foundation clients. She has more than 12 years of experience in creating integrated communications plans on a wide range of issues, including global health, foreign policy and U.S-U.N. relations, microfinance, sustainable travel and access to family planning. Before joining Powell Tate, Victoria served as deputy director of communications and public affairs for the United Nations Foundation. Prior to that, she was a senior program associate for the Science and Human Rights Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Meredith Beaton, Senior Vice President

Meredith is an innovative public relations expert who specializes in strategic communications and integrated marketing, reputation building, crisis communications, media relations, brand development and coalition building for a variety of the firm’s corporate clients. Meredith joined Powell Tate from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), where she led NACSA’s national communications, policy and outreach efforts. Prior to NACSA, Meredith served for three years in the Bush administration at the U.S. Department of Education, most recently as Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Communications and Outreach. A skilled media and political strategist, she worked at the Washington, D.C., government relations firm Podesta Mattoon, and in the New York office of Burson-Marsteller, designing and executing legislative and corporate public affairs campaigns for national and international clients. Meredith began her career on Capitol Hill as an aide to U.S. Sen. James Jeffords (R-Vt.).

Bob Brody, Senior Vice President

Bob specializes in media strategy. He has devised media initiatives and overseen and conducted media outreach for public relations firms for 20 years, mainly for healthcare clients. A former journalist, he also offers editorial expertise, with strength in op-eds and other written communications, and conducts media trainings. Current clients include the Advanced Medical Technology Association. Weight Watchers, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and the U.S. Army Reserve. Previously, Bob spearheaded media relations for dozens of national health education campaigns, primarily for pharmaceutical firms. A freelance essayist, he contributes to many national publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. His blog, http://letterstomykids.org — recently featured on Fox News— calls on parents (and grandparents) to preserve family history for future generations.

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Joel Daly, Senior Vice President, Experience Design

Joel is a part of our Digital Communications team and brings over 10 years of experience to his work with clients like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Georgetown University and the Century Council. Joel also works with American Council on Education on the KnowHow2GO campaign by developing and overseeing a comprehensive, iterative digital communications strategy utilizing social media, emerging technologies and audience research methods to reach, engage and inspire young people to go to college. He previously directed the user experience team at Virilion, where he oversaw efforts from large scale redesigns to ongoing interactive strategy for the Business Software Alliance, the Human Rights Campaign, Conservation Fund and the “ED in ‘08” campaign.

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John Files, Senior Vice President

John applies his extensive experience as a writer and editor of national and political news and public affairs issues to a range of strategic communications and media relations projects. He specializes in developing and executing communication strategies designed to position issues and organizations in the media, impact policy debates and elevate corporate reputations. John has worked for a variety of clients, including major corporations, trade associations and public policy advocacy organizations and nonprofits. Clients have included Advance America, General Electric, Mayo Clinic, the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, Pfizer, TIAA-CREF, Save Darfur Coalition and the State of the USA. Prior to joining the firm, Files was at the Washington bureau of The New York Times.

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Tom Kiley, Senior Vice President

Tom provides strategic public affairs advice and develops communications campaigns to help clients advance their organizational goals. His portfolio focuses on education, foundation, nonprofit and financial services clients. Tom has a decade of public affairs and communications experience, including five years on Capitol Hill, where he was communications director for the House Education and Labor Committee and Financial Services Committee. Tom has also served as an adviser to the Economic Policy Institute, a leading national research and policy organization.

Amy Leonardi, Senior Vice President, Creative Studio

Amy has more than 20 years of experience in visual design. Since joining the agency in 1997, she has managed the creative component of communications campaigns for major national and international corporations, governments and nonprofit organizations. She provides clients with creative and strategic solutions to brand identity, advertising and marketing campaigns, digital design, publications, and event and display signage.

Amy is engaged in work for many of the agency’s clients. She is currently part of an international team that is developing an internal marketing campaign for NATO’s Brussels headquarters and offices worldwide; she is leading a re-branding assignment for the National Education Association; she is developing advertising creative for a non-violence awareness campaign targeting underserved populations in Los Angeles and San Francisco for the nonprofit, INOBTR; she is developing event branding and collateral design for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation; and much more.

Prior to joining Powell Tate, Amy led design and marketing for Foster Brothers Coffee, a 12-store chain of retail coffee shops in Washington and Chicago. Other professional experience includes retail design for a national home improvement chain and in-house design for a small trade association. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in advertising design.

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Fred Lindeberg, Senior Vice President

Fred specializes in issue-driven public relations, crisis communications and corporate reputation. He has 20 years of experience leading high-profile public affairs efforts and developing effective communications strategies for major corporations, organizations and nonprofits. In recent years, Fred has helped clients announce important initiatives, overcome reputational challenges, manage contentious issues, and prevail in legislative and regulatory arenas.
 

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Greg McCarthy, Senior Vice President

Greg brings more than 20 years of communications, legislative and congressional experience to his work with clients. In both the public and private sector, he has advised leaders in business and government on strategic communications, media relations and thought leadership programs. He has extensive experience in legislative policy and politics, having served as communications advisor to U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Bill Bradley, as director of legislative affairs for the New Jersey Department of Labor, and as an advisor and organizer on state and local political campaigns. Greg’s work on behalf of clients includes overseeing a coalition to support congressional funding for the U.S Navy’s Aircraft Carrier program, providing strategic advice on the pursuit of the U.S. Air Force’s next generation fighter trainer and securing corporate partnerships to promote the U.S. Census.

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Tim Ryan, Managing Director, Sawyer Miller Advertising

A veteran communication strategist, Tim has extensive experience in public affairs and advocacy campaigns on healthcare, defense, energy and environmental issues. Major clients have included: Team US101 (a consortium of AgustaWestland, Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopters), the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research and the Partnership to Protect Consumer Credit.

Prior to joining the firm, Tim served as executive director of Citizens for Better Medicare, where he led the national coalition’s $100 million issue advocacy campaign on Medicare reform. Before this, as director of advertising for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Tim directed the association’s multi-million dollar education and issue advocacy campaign. 

Kathleen Siedlecki, SVP/Management Supervisor, U.S. Director, Global and Public Health

Kathleen brings diverse experience in global health, integrated advocacy programs, public health policy and issues management in her role as U.S. Director, Global and Public Health for Weber Shandwick. Her programs have a direct and measurable impact, garnering national media coverage, moving public opinion, influencing government programs and motivating positive health behavior change.

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Sally Squires, Senior Vice President

Sally is Director of Health and Wellness Communications. She specializes in the design and implementation of nutrition, food and health advocacy programs for government, nonprofit and corporate clients. Before joining Powell Tate in 2008, Sally was an award-winning nationally syndicated nutrition columnist and health writer for the Washington Post. Sally is also an author, a frequent contributor to many national magazines and has co-produced and co-written a PBS documentary. She holds two master’s degrees in nutrition and in journalism, both from Columbia University.

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Brian Wommack, Senior Vice President

Brian specializes in communications strategies for clients facing major crises, high-stakes litigation, investigations and contentious public policy battles. His expertise encompasses all aspects of safeguarding corporate interest and reputation, including crisis contingency planning and response, reputation recovery and public communications surrounding litigation. Brian has helped clients whose business and reputation were threatened by natural and manmade disasters, investigations of corporate malfeasance, congressional oversight investigations, grand jury investigations, settlements of significant criminal and civil charges, as well as litigation matters ranging from class actions, products liability and charges of discrimination to allegations of fraud and general business disputes. Prior to joining Powell Tate, Brian was a practicing attorney. He clerked for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and worked for then-Senator Joseph Biden and then-Representative Richard Durbin.

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Eric Bloem, Vice President

Eric leads corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts for clients to build brands and drive engagement with key stakeholders. He brings more than 10 years of experience in communications for both nonprofit organizations and Fortune 500 businesses. Eric directs the agency’s global partnership with BSR to advance its mission to help companies create a just and sustainable world. He also manages the agency’s partnership with A Billion + Change, providing strategic counsel on how the coalition, sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation, can encourage businesses to provide pro-bono services to nonprofit organizations.

Prior to joining Powell Tate, Eric served as deputy director of the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Workplace Project. He led HRC’s efforts to develop innovative marketing and social media campaigns to promote the CSR practices of businesses. He provided counsel to businesses facing CSR-related crises by working directly with the media to enhance positive press and diminish risk to the business. Eric also worked as a manager with Accenture’s change management practice, offering organizational design and technology consulting to retail and financial services clients.

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Heather Cable, Vice President

Heather manages and implements public affairs, advocacy relations and strategic communications programs for health care clients. Her current clients include the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), the trade association for medical imaging equipment manufacturers, innovators and product developers, and the Healthcare Leadership Council. For MITA, Heather coordinates an integrated communications campaign to support federal policy objectives and raise awareness of the value of medical imaging.

Prior to joining Powell Tate, Heather worked at Toplin & Associates, Inc., a public relations firm in Fort Washington, Pa., where she coordinated media relations programs and events for health care and nonprofit clients including The Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation, the Drug Information Association and the State of Pennsylvania’s Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Campaign.

MP Gay, Vice President

MP leads the Washington office’s special events practice. She provides strategic counsel that helps clients conceive, plan and manage high-impact events that advance public education, advocacy and communications goals. She oversees large-scale, event-focused campaigns for clients including the Army Reserve 100th Anniversary, Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative and Army Education Initiative. Prior to joining Powell Tate, MP worked for one of the top event planning firms in the United States, where she headed up its largest event, the Komen National Race for the Cure.

Amil Husain, Vice President

Amil is a digital strategist who has spent his career conceiving and implementing high-impact campaigns for nonprofits, corporations and government agencies. He has extensive experience with social media outreach and mobile campaigning, and a deep background in new media development. Amil develops digital strategy and new media development for clients such as Verisign, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, USAID, Weight Watchers and USPS. As the digital lead for Verisign, Amil oversaw the development of a new social media strategy including Facebook and Twitter campaigns, and the development of interactive products such as Infographics.

Prior to joining the firm, Amil worked at the United Nations on a global advocacy campaign around the Millennium Development Goals. At the United Nations, Amil led a digital team that helped create the largest single global advocacy program to date: Stand Up Against Poverty.

Katie Kunec Gjerulff, Vice President

Katie manages strategic planning, media relations, ally development, event coordination and executive visibility for corporate clients, trade associations, nonprofit organizations and government entities. Currently, she develops and executes positioning and outreach activities targeting media, stakeholders and other influencers for Weight Watchers, the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

For Weight Watchers, she manages initiatives to elevate the company's position as a leading authority on the issues of obesity, weight management and prevention of weight-related diseases including heart disease and type-2 diabetes in the United States. She is working to position the coming-soon Anschutz Health and Wellness Center and its leaders as innovators in developing and advancing models to help individuals, organizations and communities achieve and sustain healthier lifestyles.


For CMS, Katie manages public education campaigns around various Medicare programs and initiatives. Previously, she worked with Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) on a campaign to elevate the Blue brand by promoting key programs for improving healthcare costs, access and quality. She also managed BCBSA’s National Walk@Lunch Day and Capitol Hill Challenge, two workplace wellness initiatives that encourage individuals to add regular physical activity to their daily routine.

Katie has generated significant exposure for her clients, including placements in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and NPR.

David Leavitt, Vice President, Digital

David manages large-scale engagement campaigns for association, corporation, nonprofit and government clients. A veteran of analyzing media coverage, David began his career with the National Journal, where he edited the daily syndicated news feed for MSNBC.com and Fox News, and wrote the National Journal Early Bird, an online update of top national news. For seven years, David served as editor of Greenwire, a Capitol Hill news service run by E&E Publishing. He spent two years working in the Editorial Services department of Virilion Inc., where he headed the rapid response team for a major energy client, advised clients on reputation management and designed online advertising campaigns.

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Seth Levin, Vice President

Seth develops and manages public education campaigns for government, healthcare and nonprofit clients. Currently, he leads several integrated marketing programs for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to help change perceptions and motivate positive health behaviors among consumers in the areas of prevention, healthcare quality and planning. He is also spearheading a campaign to raise awareness of Medicare fraud prevention efforts. In addition to CMS, Seth works with the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to shape messaging around racial equity and support grantees’ efforts to promote racial healing. Previous clients include Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Humanity United and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Kristen Smith, Vice President

Kristen brings extensive expertise in strategic public affairs, external relations, grassroots advocacy and speechwriting to her work for a diverse array of clients. Prior to joining Powell Tate, she served as a speechwriter for the Secretary and Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she developed speeches on a wide range of topics related to the Department’s work in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable and alternative energy, oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy. Kristen's government service also included work at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration where, as Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships in the Office of the Commissioner, she built relationships with agency stakeholders and played a key role in the development of communications strategies for major agency announcements.

Kristen has also held advocacy and public affairs positions at a number of large Washington, D.C.-based trade associations, including the National Federation of Independent Business, where she directed all aspects of the association’s grassroots activities relating to federal public policy, and the Health Insurance Association of America, where she developed and managed the association’s national grassroots efforts and worked to expand the association’s ally base. Prior to this, Kristen directed and implemented the legislative and regulatory affairs programs for America’s Blood Centers, a nationwide network of nonprofit community blood centers, in addition to holding various writing positions at the American Council of Life Insurers.

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  • Powell Tate DC
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  • Washington, DC 20001
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