William Ferguson, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Executive Committee
Phone: (202) 331-8500
E-mail: bferguson@tfgnet.com
Bill Ferguson founded The Ferguson Group (TFG) in 1982, with specialties in local government, land use, and water resources. Today, the firm is among the top 25 non-law, lobbying firms in Washington and represents more public agencies and public water agencies than any other firm in Washington. Bill represents private sector and local government clients in his specialty areas, including transportation, Department of Defense base reuse, land use, and community development.
Bill excels at the underlying strategy that drives successful projects. He developed and implemented a strategy that resulted in congressional approval of $265 million for several lines of credit that enabled his client to build two phases of a toll road. He also led the lobbying team that established a new, innovative financing provision for the client. The provision enabled the agency to build a third phase of toll road and became the basis for the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) chapter in TEA–21, which has extended special financing benefits to communities nationwide.
Under Bill’s leadership, the company has been in the forefront of base reuse and redevelopment efforts nationwide. In 1985, three years before the current Base Realignment and Closure process was launched, Bill led TFG’s representation of a succession of companies, and finally, the City of Novato, California, in the successful reuse of Hamilton Air Force Base, in Marin County. Bill worked to accelerate the cleanup of a previously undisclosed landfill, renegotiate the original sales agreement, and resolve a series of regulatory impediments to the cost-effective reuse of the property. Each of these successes required substantial interaction with federal agencies and the adoption of numerous pieces of authorization and appropriations legislation.
Bill is a hands-on CEO—one who works tirelessly on behalf of the firm’s clients and is uncompromising about customer service and commitment to excellence. He established and maintains the highest ethical standards for the work of TFG.
Bill received a B.A. in History and Political Science from Michigan State University and attended the University of Southern California, Washington Public Affairs Center; Boston University, Department of Urban Affairs; and Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government. He serves as the chairman of the board of eCivis.; is on the Board of Stop It Now!, a non-profit dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse; and is a member of the Urban Land Institute.
W. Roger Gwinn, President, Executive Committee
Phone: (202) 261-6006
E-mail: rgwinn@tfgnet.com
Roger Gwinn, recognized by Influence Magazine as one of Washington’s six “Top Gun” appropriations lobbyists, has spent his entire professional career in Washington. He joined TFG in 1993 after spending fifteen years on Capitol Hill. Roger worked on the staff of U.S. Representative L. Richardson Preyer and then served as associate staff on the House Appropriations Committee and as legislative director to Congressman Vic Fazio, where he was responsible for water, energy, environmental protection, and natural resources issues.
Roger is a nationally recognized water infrastructure expert and assists in the representation of many of TFG’s appropriations clients. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the firm, he represents public agency and private interests, specializing in community development and water resources. Roger is known for the development and implementation of innovative and successful strategies to meet the challenging and complex funding needs of TFG’s clients.
Roger received his B.A. in Political Science from North Carolina State University. He was selected as a member of the inaugural class of the Stennis Congressional Staff Fellows Program, a bipartisan leadership development program for senior-level staff of the United States Congress and sponsored by the Stennis Center for Public Service. Roger also serves on the Board of Directors of eCivis.
Ken Brown
Phone: (202) 331-8500
E-mail: kbrown@tfgnet.com
Ken Brown advises public and private sector clients on federal funding, regulatory solutions, and other tools to facilitate brownfields revitalization, economic and community development, infrastructure upgrades, and air and water quality improvements. He also advises private sector clients on promoting environmental technologies and environmentally preferred products. Ken speaks regularly on brownfields, smart growth, and other community revitalization issues.
Over the last few years, Ken helped clients obtain more than $100 million in federal funding for infrastructure, environmental cleanup, demonstration projects, and other client priorities. He helped lobby for and draft portions of the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, signed by President Bush in 2002. Ken helped a chemical company win the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award as part of a multi-faceted strategy that helped its product become the market leader. He helped a Fortune 500 company obtain the first Green Seal certification for environmental technologies in its class.
Ken served as executive director of the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals (NALGEP), where he tripled membership and raised more than $3 million in federal funding for an organization which represents more than 150 cities and counties across the U.S. Ken also assisted two major cities to win designation as Brownfields Showcase Communities—selections made by the U.S. EPA in cooperation with 20 other federal agencies.
Ken joined TFG in 2005 after serving as the government affairs director for Spiegel & McDiarmid, where he also served as the executive director of the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals. He also served as executive director of Renew America, national program director for Clean Water Action, director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, and legislative assistant for Congressman Bill Gradison. Ken received his B.A. and Masters of Public Policy degrees from the University of Michigan.
Ken is the co-author of Unlocking Brownfields: Keys to Community Revitalization; Smart Growth is Smart Business; Profiles of Business Leadership on Smart Growth; and Building a Brownfields Partnership from the Ground Up: Local Government Views on the Value and Promise of National Brownfields Initiatives.
Debra Bryant
Phone: (202) 261-3689
E-mail: dbryant@tfgnet.com
With twenty-five years of government relations experience, Debra Bryant represents local communities, hospitals, private colleges, non-profit organizations, and corporations seeking federal funds for economic development. Her knowledge of federal and state governments and her ability to work in a bipartisan manner with the entire North Carolina Congressional Delegation have helped her clients secure millions of dollars.
Debra joined TFG in 2002 after serving as director of federal government relations for Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC. Previously, Debra was director of North Carolina’s Washington Office from 1993 to 1999, appointed by Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. She helped secure $600 million for recovery efforts in areas devastated by Hurricane Fran in 1996, in addition to working on the governor’s priorities of economic development, crime reduction, education reform, tobacco, and enhancing children and family services. In 1999, Debra was retained by Governor Hunt to secure more than $300 million for recovery efforts following Hurricane Floyd. Debra was the political action committee director and political education coordinator for the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the federal legislative assistant and state issues coordinator for the American Society of Anesthesiologists. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Political Studies from Meredith College and an M.P.A. from North Carolina State University.
Debra is an active member of Women in Government Relations, the North Carolina Society of Washington and the North Carolina Democratic Club. From 1994 to 1999, she served as the North Carolina Alternate to the Appalachian Regional Commission, appointed by Governor Hunt. Debra is a recipient of the North Carolina Democratic Club Distinguished Service Award and the American Association of Women Emergency Physicians Meritorious Service Award.
Valerie Gelnovatch
Phone: (305) 442-0501
E-mail: vgelnovatch@tfgnet.com
Val Gelnovatch manages TFG ’s Florida office, in Coral Gables, FL and represents the interests of municipal governments, focusing on emergency management, shore protection, urban infrastructure, transportation, homeland security, water resources, port development, aviation, and economic development issues. She joined the firm in 1998 after serving as a communications manager for Legislative Demographic Services, where she developed advocacy materials for large corporations and interest groups using grassroots database management. Her previous experience was as regulatory director for another municipally-focused lobbying firm. In this capacity Val gained expertise in economic development, water resources, transportation, and education issues. She also served as a representative for an independent private school association and an independent hospital association where she focused on ADA issues and Medicaid reform. Val has additional experience in planning events such as congressional fundraisers and congressional briefings.
Val participates in the Florida Association of Counties and Florida League of Cities and represents the firm at the annual Florida City and County Managers Association conference. She received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Virginia and her Masters of Public Administration from The George Washington University.
Ron Hamm
Phone: (202) 261-6009
E-mail: rhamm@tfgnet.com
Ron Hamm joined TFG in 1999, and has 13 years of experience working with local governments. Ron advises clients on higher education issues, housing, economic and community development issues, Broadband, and information technology issues. He was previously a legislative associate with the lobbying firm of Honberger and Walters, Inc., where he specialized in technology, airport, seaport, housing, economic development, tax, and public finance issues and worked on appropriations and authorization matters for county governments and other public agencies. Ron is a former legislative assistant to a city councilman and county supervisor in San Diego, CA and received a California State Assembly Resolution of Service award for his work.
Ron has worked with TFG’s clients to secure millions of dollars in federal appropriations and several key authorizations to support university research, information technology, waterfront development, facilities construction, public safety, and transportation. Ron’s major accomplishments include drafting legislation that was approved by Congress and signed into law to establish the first National Heritage Area west of the Mississippi River and only one of 27 Heritage Areas in the United States. Ron was also successful in securing federal funding for the development of a national museum that commemorates a significant era in soul music in the United States.
Ron received a B.S. in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where he was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, a University Student Ambassador, and a member of the University Senate. He is a member of the Northern Virginia Graduate Chapter of his fraternity and serves as its representative to the National Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project. Ron is a member of the Washington Government Relations Group and Heritage Fellowship United Church of Christ in Reston, VA where he is a former church trustee as well as chairman of the Budget Committee.
William Hanka, Execuitive Committee
Phone: (202) 261-6003
E-mail: bhanka@tfgnet.com
Bill Hanka joined TFG in 2000, bringing ten years of experience working in the U.S House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and the White House. Bill's clients include a diverse cross-section of local governments and private sector clients in 10 states, including King County, Washington – one of the largest counties in the nation; the City of Cincinnati, Ohio; the City of Anderson, Indiana, and Umatilla County, Oregon. Bill specializes in transportation issues and leads the firm’s Transportation Policy Group. Bill is also the federal director of the Mayor and Municipalities Automotive Coalition (website: www.autocommunities.us), a national group of local governments and other stakeholders that seek federal support for the U.S. automotive sector in communities that are the home to American automotive manufacturing, supplier, assembly, and related automotive entities and for communities where automotive facilities have closed and are in need of federal economic redevelopment support.
Bill's government career included serving as deputy director of legislative affairs for Vice President Quayle from 1989 to 1993, legislative director for Congressman George Nethercutt from 1995 to 1997, and investigative counsel for the House Government Reform Committee from 1997 to 1998.
After leaving government service, Bill was of counsel to the firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, & Caldwell from 1998 to 2000, where he worked with a wide range of public and private sector clients on transportation and federal election issues. Bill received his B.A. from Purdue University and a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.
Melissa Hyman
Phone: (202) 331-8500
E-mail: mhyman@tfgnet.com
Melissa Hyman works with both public and private sector clients to research, develop, and implement their legislative strategies. For the firm’s municipal clients, Melissa helps identify and pursue viable federal funding opportunities through Congressional appropriations and discretionary grants. She has helped clients obtain millions of dollars in authorizing and appropriations funding.
Melissa also helps clients evaluate strategies to build and maintain a competitive edge when contracting with the Department of Homeland Security. Specifically, Melissa drafts legislative remedies and works with federal agencies to resolve problems and promote new initiatives. Most recently, Melissa successfully drafted and negotiated inclusion of language in a major piece of homeland security legislation that will improve the hazardous material inspection process.
Before joining TFG in 2004, Melissa served as a legislative assistant to U.S. Representative Joseph Hoeffel, where she handled the congressman’s domestic policy agenda, with a special focus on appropriations. In addition, she coordinated the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee work for the congressman. Melissa received a B.A. in Political Science from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and a Masters in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University.
Jennifer L. Imo
Phone: (202) 454-3947
E-mail: jimo@tfgnet.com
Jennifer Imo represents municipal governments with a focus on community and economic development, transportation, public works, criminal justice, and public safety. In addition, she serves as the Federal Director of the National Association of Towns and Townships, a local government advocacy group that represents the interests of nearly 12,000 towns and townships across the country.
Jennifer helps her municipal clients find innovative ways to fund local priority projects. As a result of successful strategy and strong relationships with congressional offices, Jennifer’s clients have secured more than $100 million in federal appropriations and authorizations in the five years she has been with TFG. Moreover, Jennifer fosters relationships between her clients and various federal agencies. For example, she facilitated a working relationship between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and a local government to develop a program for displaced workers who have lost their jobs in furniture and textile plant closings.
Jennifer lobbies Congress on a variety of legislative issues of interest to local governments. She works closely with groups like the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties to affect legislation that touches many aspects of local government. She also advises TFG clients on historic preservation and rural development issues.
Prior to joining TFG in 2002, Jennifer was an associate at the law firm of Moore and Van Allen, PLLC, in Charlotte, NC, where she litigated employment, environmental, real estate, international trade, securities, and telecommunications issues.
Jennifer received a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law.
Trent Lehman
Phone: (202) 331-8500
E-mail: tlehman@tfgnet.com
Trent Lehman is experienced with matters before the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, including policy, politics, and procedure. He has worked as a Congressional staffer on Capitol Hill and as a political analyst and campaign field representative for the Republican National Committee.
Prior to joining The Ferguson Group in 1999, Trent served as a legislative assistant to Representative Thomas Ewing and as a senior legislative assistant to Representative Andrea Seastrand.
While working on Capitol Hill as a congressional staff member, Trent received the 1998 “Gateway Award” from the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) for his policy work on the issues surrounding the transportation of hazardous materials for agricultural use. This is the highest annual award given by the ARA in recognition of outstanding work on behalf of agricultural retailers nationwide.
Trent focuses on obtaining federal appropriations for specific client projects. He regularly develops, maintains, and improves federal relations in an effort to secure federal funding for clients, including cities, municipalities, and transit agencies.
Trent has been successful in helping his clients secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal agency funding and direct appropriations in areas that are priorities for municipal government. These interest areas include transit and transportation, economic development activities, water and wastewater development, education and child care, criminal justice, health care, and homeland security issues.
Trent’s clients include municipal governments, transit agencies, healthcare systems, and universities. He also serves as one of the firm’s representatives for the National Association of Counties.
Trent received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Hon. Mark A. Limbaugh
 Phone: (202) 261-3699
E-mail: mlimbaugh@tfgnet.com
Mark Limbaugh provides strategic policy and legislative guidance to clients on water, irrigation, and natural resource management issues. In 2005, Mark was appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior prior to joining TFG in July 2007. Mark also served more than three years as Deputy Commissioner - External and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Bureau of Reclamation in Washington, D.C.
Prior to his federal service, Mark has accumulated over 22 years of on-the-ground experience in production agriculture, water, and natural resource issues, and has been actively involved in various state and federal water organizations throughout his career. Other key positions Mark has held include President of the Family Farm Alliance, Watermaster of Idaho’s Payette River Basin, and Executive Director of the Payette River Water Users Association.
Mark earned his B.S. cum laude from the University of Idaho and has worked as a Certified Public Accountant.
Charmayne Macon, Executive Committee
Phone: (202) 261-6016
E-mail: cmacon@tfgnet.com
Charmayne Macon advocates for public agencies and nonprofit organizations on a variety of legislative and policy issues affecting their funding and program operations. With nearly two decades of experience, she devises and executes federal appropriations strategies and advances policy objectives on housing, economic and workforce development, transportation, and environment and water resources issues. Her activities also include advising on competitive grant opportunities, providing regulatory representation before Federal agencies, and coalition building with other groups with similar legislative or policy goals.
Ms. Macon's current clients include primarily California entities. As a result, she has strong ties to both elected officials and staff in the California Congressional Delegation. Additionally, she works with many California stakeholder groups based in Washington, D.C. and California. The nonprofit organizations she represents work to provide resources and opportunities for a quality education for underprivileged youth, and economic stability and development in our nation's urban core. Her work with nonprofit's in particular has involved engaging them in the public policy process as part of their overall strategy to promote their causes, as well as forging partnerships with the Federal government and prospective and existing supporters.
Prior to joining TFG, Ms. Macon served as a staff assistant for the House Committee on Government Operations (renamed the House Committee on Government Reform), where she provided research and analysis on immigration, transportation and agricultural issues. She received her B.A. in Government and Politics and her M.P.A., with a concentration in policy, from George Mason University. She is a member of the Women in Government Relations, and the Women's Transportation Seminar. Ms. Macon is also an active member of the Washington Redskin Cheerleader Alumni.
Christina Mattar
 Phone: (202) 261-6019
E-mail: cmattar@tfgnet.com
Christina Mattar joined The Ferguson Group in 2002 with specialties in water resources, natural resources, environmental policy, and securing appropriations for local governments. She is a former legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Mike Thompson where she worked on agriculture, environment, and natural resources issues. She assisted him with anadromous fish and waterfowl habitat protection and on conservation provisions in the agriculture authorization bill.
Christina also worked as a lobbyist for Alcalde & Fay handling environmental and public works issues with a focus on appropriations, and as a staff assistant for the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. At Alcalde & Fay, she worked closely with cities and counties in California on a range of municipal and agricultural water and wastewater issues.
Since joining TFG, Christina has helped a non-profit group representing 83 municipalities in Western Pennsylvania secure over $12 million in federal funding to pay for innovative solutions to aging water infrastructure.
Christina received her M.S. in Environmental Policy from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Geology from Vanderbilt University. She volunteers with Horton’s Kids and Seeds of Peace.
Michael Miller, Executive Committee
Phone: (707) 254-9287
E-mail: miller@tfgnet.com
Michael Miller is a partner at The Ferguson Group and manages TFG’s Western Region Division. Michael specializes in transportation, economic development, water infrastructure, and environmental issues.
Michael assisted one client in its regional effort to secure over $70 million for congestion relief in the 2005 transportation reauthorization bill. Michael also assisted two metropolitan planning organizations secure $5 million for regional air quality improvements and over $71 million for improvements to a major interchange in the I-80 corridor in Northern California. Michael helped clients secure funding for transit facility construction, bike trails, law enforcement technology upgrades, after school programs for youth, and water infrastructure improvements.
Michael joined TFG in 1997 after serving as counsel to U.S. Representative Robert T. Matsui, focusing on transportation, economic development, military base closure and reuse, flood control, water infrastructure, and environmental issues. He also practiced land-use and environmental law in Sacramento. Michael received his B.A. with high honors in Political Science from the University of California Berkeley, his J.D. from the College of William and Mary, and his LL.M. (Master of Laws) from the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. He is a member of the State Bar of California.
Kristi More
Phone: (707) 254-8400
E-mail: kmore@tfgnet.com
Kristi More joined TFG in 2000 and specializes in brownfields, transportation, water, economic and rural development, environmental policy, and appropriations for local governments. She is a former staff assistant for a California state representative; intern for the District of Columbia Office of the Corporation Counsel, concentrating on legal and legislative issues concerning the abuse and neglect of children and the elderly; and intern for the California Cattlemen’s Association, focusing on land, water, and air quality concerns surrounding the beef industry.
Kristi is based in TFG’s California office and primarily works on behalf of local governments and public agencies in California. Since joining TFG, Kristi has concentrated on expanding the firm’s services to small, rural areas. Typically an underserved and underrepresented community, Kristi has worked to develop working relationships between the Congress, federal agencies, and her rural clients. These relationships have benefited rural communities through direct appropriations and authorizations, as well as contributed to the congressional offices gaining a better understanding of the unique problems and needs of rural communities.
Kristi received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis. She completed the Water Education Foundation’s Water Leader training and has been an invited speaker on the federal appropriations process.
Leslie Mozingo, Management Committee
Phone: (336) 766-1801
E-mail: lmozingo@tfgnet.com
Leslie Mozingo manages TFG ’s Southern Region Division and represents cities, counties, and transportation authorities. With 20 years in the government arena, Leslie has become highly respected for her ability to devise and implement innovative strategies for appropriations and authorizations for transportation and economic development projects and has been quoted in publications such as County Lines on how to lobby effectively. Never afraid of a challenge, Leslie continuously looks for new ways to secure funds in untraditional accounts. Her determination led to securing one of only three earmarks in the first bill to ever include line items under the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) account, and to negotiating language in a Department of Defense appropriations conference report that allowed a County Sheriff’s Office to keep excess military equipment without payment.
Leslie joined the firm in 1991 after serving as a legislative assistant to U.S. Representative E. Clay Shaw, Jr., and working as a fundraiser for the National Republican Committee. She received a B.S. in Business from the University of Alabama and an M.B.A. in Marketing, summa cum laude, from The American University in Washington, D.C., where she was also a Bryce Harlow Scholar. Leslie manages the firm’s North Carolina office in Forsyth County, where she is active in parent associations and various community organizations. She represents the firm in the National Association of Counties and the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.
Kareem Murphy
Phone: (202) 331-8500
E-mail: kareem@tfgnet.com
Kareem Murphy has expertise in homeland security, health and human services, and workforce development. Kareem is a top lobbyist in the areas of homeland security and emergency management. He helped to form a coalition of lobbyist and national organizations that in 2001 successfully lobbied Congress and the Administration for an initial $3.5 billion in homeland security funding. That effort resulted in what is now called the State Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Area Security Initiative, both administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Kareem utilized his early experience with the Department of Homeland Security to help clients secure over $20 million in federal funding from that agency and the Department of Justice. In one instance, the City of Jackson, TN called on Kareem’s expertise in emergency management in the wake of a category F-4 tornado that struck the city in May 2003. The tornado devastated much of Jackson’s downtown area and destroyed the city’s two public housing developments beyond the point of livability. Kareem crafted a recovery strategy that engaged the city’s congressional delegation, HUD, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Justice, netting an assistance package in excess of $10 million. Kareem lent his expertise to other communities in the wake of natural disasters, including Memphis, TN, Washington County, NC, Henderson, NC, King County, WA, and Broward County, FL.
Kareem’s knowledge of health and human services programs has benefited TFG’s county clients. In FY 2005, he helped secure a crucial $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the Washington County Hospital in Plymouth, NC. The hospital faced dire financial consequences due its inability to assemble a complete funding package for the rehabilitation of its emergency room (ER). The ER had not been renovated since it opened in the early 1960s. Kareem leveraged the county’s congressional delegation’s support to secure the award, which served to complete the project’s year 1 funding gap.
Kareem has also worked with the Department of Health and Human Services to restore erroneous cuts to Ryan White AIDS funding to Broward County and to secure a $500,000 grant for a teenage pregnancy prevention program in Lake County, IL. Kareem provides strategic counsel in health and human services to all of the firm’s local government clients.
Kareem joined TFG in 2000 after working as a public policy advocate for People for the American Way. Prior to that, he was working on a doctorate degree at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he previously earned an M.A. in U.S. History. Kareem received a B.A. in History and Spanish, magna cum laude, from Howard University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Kareem belongs to the North Carolina Society of Washington, the Washington Government Relations Group, and the Q Street Project. He is also an active member of the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, serving as the Church Historian.
Joseph Raeder, Management Committee
Phone: (202) 331-8500
E-mail: jraeder@tfgnet.com
Joe Raeder specializes in water resources and environmental issues, including legislation and policies affecting the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Among his clients are some of the largest irrigation districts in the nation, as well as municipal water agencies, county groundwater authorities, and a coalition of agricultural water users in 17 western states.
Joe joined The Ferguson Group in 1994 after serving on Capitol Hill for more than 10 years as the legislative director to U.S. Representative Calvin Dooley, where he focused on irrigation, public lands, and environmental issues. He also worked as the principal water and natural resources staffer to U.S. Representative Tony Coelho. Joe was also a senior staff writer for the Congressional Environment and Energy Study Conference, and later worked off the Hill as a program director for the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
While at The Ferguson Group, Joe has represented water agencies, counties, municipalities, and associations on a variety of legislative, regulatory, and appropriations matters. He helped agricultural water agencies in Central California navigate new federal irrigation laws and win appropriations for expansion of flood control projects. Working for a major metropolitan county in Washington state, Joe led the effort to develop and enact legislation creating a new Corps of Engineers program to assist localities improve salmon habitat in the Puget Sound region. In the southwest, Joe worked with large irrigation and urban water agencies, federal authorities, and congressional leaders on the development of the landmark Quantification Settlement Agreement reorganizing the allocation of water from the Colorado River. As the Washington representative for the Family Farm Alliance, Joe was instrumental in securing policies and legislation that gave local authorities a greater voice in federal decisions affecting operations, maintenance, and safety improvements at Bureau of Reclamation water and power projects.
Joe received a B.S. in Journalism, cum laude, from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1980.
Bob Schmidt
Phone: (202) 454-3932
E-mail: bschmidt@tfgnet.com
Bob Schmidt began working as consultant to TFG in 2005 and joined the firm on a full-time basis in 2007. Bob’s 28 years of federal government experience in the water resources arena gives him the ability to analyze complex water resources, environment and transportation issues, delivering opportunities as well as unique technical skill in navigating the intricate federal appropriations and authorization processes. Bob was formerly the clerk of the House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. In this position he had chief responsibility for the development of the annual appropriations bill and, more specifically, for the programs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the nation’s two primary water resources development agencies. Prior to that, Bob worked for 13 years in a variety of capacities for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its Philadelphia District office and in the Washington, D.C., headquarters office.
Bob has worked with TFG clients to secure federal appropriations and authorizations to help them meet critical water resources needs. Bob worked with staff of the House and Senate appropriations committee to ensure that the supplemental appropriations signed into law in the spring of 2007 included funds to repair a critical flood control levee in California. Bob also helped secure funding in the House-passed Fiscal Year 2008 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill for maintenance dredging of a boat harbor along the Mississippi River and funding to and funding to address an ongoing flooding problem that threatens water and sewer lines. In addition, Bob worked to obtain authorizations for the Corps of Engineers to assist communities in North Carolina upgrade their water and wastewater systems.
Bob earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
Andrew Seth, Director of Coalitions
Phone: (202) 454-3922
E-mail: aseth@tfgnet.com
Andrew Seth represents public and private sector clients, and specializes in building coalitions that address local government concerns. He joined TFG in 2006 after serving as a project manager with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), where he managed a number of projects including the Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN). Prior to joining ICMA, he conducted regulatory and legislative policy research for Spiegel & McDiarmid, assisting local governments solve environmental and economic development problems. He also lobbied on behalf of local government clients and served as a project manager for the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals (NALGEP), a non-profit organization representing city and county officials who are focused on environmental compliance and the development of sensible environmental policy.
Andrew is the co-author of Profiles of Business Leadership on Smart Growth and Profiles of Local Clean Air Innovation: Empowering Communities to Meet the Air Quality Challenges of the 21st Century. He received a B.S. in Biology from Salisbury State University and an M.S. in Resource Administration and Management from the University of New Hampshire.
Matt Ward, Attorney-at-Law
Phone: (202) 261-6015
E-mail: mward@tfgnet.com
Matt Ward focuses on providing localities, green technology companies, and non-profit organizations with legal and government affairs services to help revitalize communities and find innovative solutions in the areas of community and economic development, brownfields revitalization and smart growth, public works and infrastructure, transportation, water resources, permitting, clean energy, and clean air projects. He joined TFG in 2005 after being a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm Spiegel & McDiarmid, where he provided legal and lobbying advocacy to communities for more than a decade. He has served as counsel and project manager to the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals. He recently served on a federal advisory committee convened by the Environmental Protection Agency to create the rules for the national brownfield program.
Matt’s help for clients combines strategic consulting, federal funding advocacy, legal counsel, the creation of public-private partnerships, and public relations. In Stamford, CT, Matt has helped the community obtain more than $100 million to revitalize brownfields and degraded properties on the Mill River and the Long Island Sound waterfronts with resources for ecosystem restoration, transportation, and innovative green infrastructure. Matt helped the EnergySolve Companies become a first-ever national demonstration project of an innovative energy technology for the U.S. Department of Energy, also bringing millions of federal project dollars to the entrepreneur. Matt helped a coalition of public power communities save millions in compliance costs by finding an innovative alternative compliance approach that was accepted by the state government and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Matt speaks frequently on community and environmental issues at conferences, forums, and events across the country for groups like the U.S. EPA, the Council for Excellence in Government, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and the Michigan Municipal Electric Association.
Matt received his B.A., magna cum laude, from American University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the American Bar Association and its section on Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law. He is admitted to the Bars of the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia and to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. In addition, he served eight years as an elected councilman for the City of Charles Town, WV.
Matt’s published work includes: Unlocking Brownfields: Keys to Community Revitalization; Smart Growth is Smart Business; Smart Growth for Clean Water; Recycling America’s Gas Stations: The Value and Promise of Revitalizing Petroleum Contaminated Properties; Profiles of Local Clean Air Innovation: Empowering Communities to Meet the Air Quality Challenges of the 21st Century; and Profiles of Business Leadership on Smart Growth: New Partnerships Demonstrate the Economic Benefits of Reducing Sprawl. He has also published numerous articles in journals and magazines, including “National Incentives for Smart Growth Communities,” Natural Resources & Environment; “Clean Air on the Horizon? The Need for New Tools for Local Governments to Meet National Air Quality Objectives,” Municipal Lawyer;, Building a Brownfields Partnership from the Ground Up: Local Government Views on the Value and Promise of National Brownfields Initiatives; “Project XL: An Alternate Path for Environmental Leaders,” 1997 Wiley Environmental Law Update; and “Project XL for Communities: An Alternative Path to Environmental Compliance,” Municipal Lawyer.
Amanda Wood
Phone: (202) 261-3684
E-mail: awood@tfgnet.com
Amanda Wood represents municipal and nonprofit clients on matters related to transportation, economic development, natural resources, and social services. She joined TFG in 2005 after serving as legislative director to U.S. Senator Bob Graham, where she was responsible for developing and implementing the senator's legislative agenda and strategy. As the senator's chief appropriations advisor, she worked closely with representatives from Florida cities, counties, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and state agencies to advocate for appropriations projects ranging from infrastructure improvements to research and cultural projects. In addition to assisting clients with federal funding needs, her experience as a senior legislative staffer on Capitol Hill has given her the skills to represent clients on matters ranging from post-hurricane FEMA policy changes to judgeship authorizations and Everglades preservation. Amanda also worked as a legislative assistant for the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
Amanda received a B.S. from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She is president of the Florida State Society, an organization that brings together Floridians who live and work in Washington, D.C., and is an active member of the Junior League of Washington.
David Grenham, Director of Client Services
David Grenham is director of client services and marketing at The Ferguson Group, where he works with TFG partners to improve services to new and existing clients. David’s experience includes advocacy and grassroots coalition-building, client services, marketing and business development, and media and public relations strategy development. Prior to joining The Ferguson Group, David worked in the law firm and legal services arena for ten years, most recently Arnold & Porter LLP and Covington & Burling LLP, where he managed those firms’ litigation and new technology practice groups.
Before that he oversaw media relations for the Healthcare Leadership Council, a coalition of chief executives from all disciplines within the health care system, where he was responsible for national and grassroots media outreach on key health issues, including Medicare reform, insurance reform and women’s health. David organized briefings and events in Washington and throughout the United States and designed communications strategies for national and grassroots programs.
Before moving to Washington, DC in 1995, David was a newspaper editor and reporter in Valencia County, New Mexico. David is a 1991 graduate of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he earned a bachelor of arts in journalism.
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