The record

NOW

2024–presentSenior Counselor for Impact; Senior Advisor, Office for Fiscal and Regulatory Analysis
America First Policy Institute · Washington
OFRA is AFPI’s AI policy shop. I manage and design AI-powered technical assistance and policy research delivered to Cabinet agencies, state agencies and senior executive-branch leaders, and I designed the architecture of the end-to-end policy-campaign tooling behind it. Typical work: a waste, fraud and abuse screen across more than 1,200 local school districts and 200 million data points. As Senior Counselor, I built the function that tells leadership what the organization’s work changed and what resources could drive further change. Before either title, special advisor for strategic communications on international, national, state and local issues.

2026–presentSenior Advisor
U.S. Department of Agriculture · Washington
Strategic communications for the department’s long-term initiatives, appointed at the Secretary’s request.

2019–presentPresident and co-founder
Better Cities Project · Carson City, Nevada
A policy nonprofit for America’s cities and counties. Its COVID-19 economic-recovery playbook, on absorbing the impacts without taxpayer-funded bailouts, reached 30,000 local and state officials.

2004–presentPrincipal
West Third Group · Las Vegas, Nevada
Public trust and communications consultancy: policy, litigation support, media and messaging, media training, narrative, community engagement, coalition support. Media, community-relations and crisis training for hundreds of public leaders; national policy-related media campaigns; the one at the podium when the podium is the job.

BEFORE

2011–2012Director of Public Relations
Goldwater Institute · Phoenix
Marketing and public relations for one of the nation’s top state think tanks, aimed at Congress, state legislatures and voters. Rolled out the nationwide communications and marketing for the nation’s first K-12 education savings account program.

2001–2004Vice President
Jane Mobley Associates · Kansas City, Missouri
Senior executive at a public-affairs firm built for issues-centric projects; managed the staff and the budgets. Public information, community relations and media for dozens of infrastructure projects. Joined it as a local shop and left it winning work across the country.

EARLIER

EarlierVice President, Communications
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association · Chicago
Communications and public affairs for the state’s largest business organization.

EarlierPR and Marketing Manager
Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc. · Omaha
Public engagement on the $1.3 billion Interstate 15 reconstruction in Salt Lake City, where the owner tied a seven-figure bonus to community approval and the team collected every dollar. Calmed local opposition to water-system privatizations across the country.

EarlierPublic Affairs Director
Reason Foundation · Santa Monica, California
National media strategy and outreach at a leading think tank.

EarlierJournalist and editor
Southern California
Award-winning columnist, news editor, city editor and copy editor.