Jay Nichols Email & Phone Number

Arlington, Va

Led and executed annual federal legislative agenda on behalf of over 400 members and advocates, reporting to organization’s Executive Team and Public Policy Committee. During tenure, headed coalition of child care advocacy groups, resulting in funding increases of ~$2.5B in 2018 and 2019, nearly 90% above the spending level in 2017.Coordinated bipartisan meetings on Capitol Hill on behalf of organization, and as Chair of National Coalition on Children & Disasters, successfully securing federal funding for children and families in numerous disaster relief congressional appropriations bills.Collaborated with Child Care Works, CCAoA’s state-level advocacy movement, to train hundreds of new child care advocates on effective strategies to increase grassroots involvement in the public policy process.Developed and implemented creative strategy to drive member communication that defeated harmful legislation from passing Congress that would have denied health care and nutritional access for millions of families.

Washington, Dc

Directed Federal public policy agenda and chaired bipartisan coalition that advocated to Congress and the Administration on key congressional appropriations and authorization issues, resulting in successful outcomes for families and children.Secured over $1 million of Federal funding annually to support and build literacy and early education programs for tens of thousands of low-income children, including working with state delegations to appropriate these monies.Supported National Commission on Children and Disasters team to ensure timely completion of congressionally-mandated national report. Chaired coalition which promoted findings nationally.Oversaw annual advocacy summit for ~300 supporters and staff in Washington, DC, which included a day for advocates to meet with congressional delegations and highlighted key domestic and international policy initiatives.

Washington, Dc

Devised and implemented the Federal agenda for public and private clients, including congressional appropriations and authorization requests, non-appropriations legislative priorities, advocacy outreach initiatives, and coalition building.Secured tens of millions of dollars in Federal funding for clients in areas such as infrastructure, health care, housing, highway and transit, law enforcement/homeland security, environment and energy, and community development.Helped land several large government clients through effective communication and relationship building.Built strong personal relationships to gain bipartisan support and attain policy objectives for many client initiatives.

Arlington, Va

Supported four of the firm’s partners, including a former Member of Congress, in pursuit of Federal funding for clients via congressional earmarks and competitive grants.Strengthened relationships and gathered intelligence on policy initiatives via daily contact with congressional staff.Researched and drafted memoranda on pertinent legislation, regulations, and policies impacting clients.Regularly attended, summarized, and reported on congressional hearings of interest to clients.