When I walked off the TV set as one of the most trusted political correspondents in Texas, I wondered whether I could have as significant an impact when the cameras were off. My job as a journalist was holding the powerful to account. I found that putting my relationships and expertise to work as an advocate for the powerless opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Since then, I’ve successfully influenced legislation and regulatory policies including education, business, transportation, insurance, tax, public safety, finance, health, and labor laws. I’ve captained industry-wide strategy, passing legislation to protect business and secure billions in state funding.I am a versatile government relations leader with 15 years of experience working with the Texas Legislature along with state, federal, and local government. I’m a trusted friend and advisor to elected officials with oversight of nearly every industry in Texas. My unique background allows me to draw upon experience and influential relationships at all levels of government, media, and politics to impact public policy, mitigate risk, and secure a favorable environment for advancing business objectives. I serve as the public face of one of Texas’s largest associations, leading a team of internal lobbyists and external contractors to influence public policy across a broad range of subjects. I represent our organization before government bodies and chambers of commerce, on stakeholder boards, and in media interviews. Additionally, I founded a campaign consulting firm and participate in professional and civic organizations at the local, state, and national level. I enjoy regularly traveling the state as a public speaker, delivering training sessions, speeches, and interviews on government relations topics.Prior to lobbying, I was the state’s premier political correspondent providing on-air analysis of Texas government and politics for ABC News and Belo/Gannett/TEGNA television affiliates from the KVUE Texas Capitol Bureau. I covered nearly every area of public policy and built powerful relationships with influential government decisionmakers and media. I learned to quickly identify and respond to emerging public policy issues and articulate complex subjects clearly and authoritatively.