Mary Bennett Email & Phone Number

Southern Utah University

Greater Nashville Area, Tn

Ms. Bennett serves clients by determining the potential business impact of legislative and regulatory changes; she advises on the most effective advocacy methods and guides them to produce positive public policy results. She has a proven record of success in educating elected officials and public servants on the safety, security, and complexity of the global payments system.

Washington D.C. Metro Area And Utah

• Advise clients on the impact of political climate, legislative proposals, and regulatory initiatives on the payments industry.• Troubleshoot obstacles in regulatory compliance to sharpen strategic planning efforts.• Demonstrate to elected officials and public servants the safety, security, and complexity of the global payments system.• Recommend and execute best advocacy methods to produce positive public policy results.

Washington, D.C.

• Established and led the first ETA Government Relations department.• Advocated for ETA members before Congress, federal and state government, and regulatory bodies.• Built grassroots network from zero to 3000 advocates in one year.• Established public policy coalitions in Washington and the states to support ETA priorities; joined with disparate interests and developed unified industry communications.• Advocated for ETA members with industry stakeholders; established long-term, productive and sustained working relationships with payment networks.• Raised public profile and enhanced public image of ETA by nurturing relationships with media outlets, speaking at industry events, and educating ETA members on the impact of laws, regulations, and grassroots advocacy.• Developed public policy and grassroots web site, The Voice of Payments™. This site ranked in the Top 10 most active advocacy sites in 2010, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Washington, D.C.

• Initiated and maintained strong relationships with U.S. House and Senate members and committees; performed Hill briefings on industry issues; conferred with board members on congressional activity; managed Chairman’s correspondence with Congress and prepared Chairman for congressional testimony.• Led team of 25 to deliver the release of Auditing Standard 5 to external audiences.• Expanded relationships with government agencies, trade associations, and stakeholders including: auditors, institutional investors, venture capital and private equity firms, public companies, consumers, and educational organizations.

Washington D.C.

Created public policy courses in Washington, D.C., for MBA candidates at sixteen university graduate schools. Facilitated seminars for business executives explaining how corporations can have a positive impact on public policy decisions. Developed and managed a weekly video public policy course for graduate business students. Maintained corporate and academic client relationships from year to year, ensuring high satisfaction and repeat business; established budgets for each program and produced favorable bottom-line results.

Washington, D.C.

• Served as Senator’s primary staff for Senate Armed Services Committee; represented Senator in conference negotiations on major legislation including annual defense authorization bills.• Responsible for diverse portfolio of issues including: federal budget and appropriations, foreign affairs, retirement and pension reform, agriculture, tourism, and veterans’ affairs.

Washington, D.C.

• Developed legislation to create new secondary market for business, commercial, and community development loans. • Represented Chairman’s interests in conference negotiations on the Community Development Banking Act; arranged congressional oversight and authorization of the Competitiveness Policy Council and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation.

Washington, D.C.

• Revised White House Personnel Reauthorization Act. Performed investigative research and developed cost estimates of White House operations; reviewed budget, structure, and operation of the White House. • Drafted Subcommittee reports on costs associated with Presidential travel, laws from which the White House is exempt, foreign officials’ use of U.S. military aircraft, and costs to taxpayers associated with travel by White House officials.• Provided ongoing briefings to national media regarding the Subcommittee’s findings.

Washington, D.C.

• Co-authored "Stuck With the Tab Part II" (1990) and "Stuck With the Tab" (1989), regional analyses of the financial impact of the savings and loan crisis. Developed bipartisan briefing material for Members on banking issues, health policy, science and technology, and international trade; directed the House of Representatives’ bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force.

Washington, D.C.