Mr. Smith is a founder and President of Smith Dawson & Andrews (SDA), oversees SDA's client activities and provides direct management to a diverse range of clients, with particular emphasis on business development, health care, technology, trade and transportation. Prior to joining SDA in 1981, Mr. Smith served in government and public affairs positions in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the State of Illinois.
Jim has been involved in many key legislative battles on Capitol Hill and active in every major transportation debate in Congress over the last 30 years. Mr. Smith’s knowledge of federal agency and congressional policy and practice and his long-term relations with key decision makers in both political parties enable him to advocate for his clients’ agendas effectively and efficiently.
Mr. Smith is a graduate of Colorado State University.
Mr. Andrews has been a partner in Smith Dawson & Andrews since 1984. He came to the firm with an extensive background in public affairs, government service and political activity, and provides strategic client counsel and senior level advocacy to key legislators and government officials. Greg has worked successfully with clients for over two decades on the annual congressional budget and appropriations processes, numerous transportation, energy and health care authorization bills and on regulatory and policy issues with both the Congress and the administrative agencies. He specializes in transportation, aviation, water resources, homeland security, energy and health care issues.
From 1977 through 1980, Greg served in several roles in the U.S. Department of Transportation, including: Congressional Liaison Officer in the Office of the Secretary: Special Assistant to the Federal Highway Administrator and as a member of the Secretary's Urban Highway Decision Group
Mr. Andrews is a graduate of Mankato State University in Minnesota.
Mr. Alvarez has enjoyed a fast-paced career closely associated with local, state, and federal government activities in the State of Illinois. He recently went into private consulting and joined SDA in 2009 to assist clients at the state and federal levels.
Prior to his consulting work, Michael was a Senior Advisor to Senator Barack Obama, providing strategic and political counsel to the Senator and his staff and serving as liaison to various constituency and ethnic groups. He also was responsible for communicating and negotiating with city, state, county, and federal elected officials on a variety of initiatives. Prior to his position with Senator Obama’s office, Mr. Alvarez served as the Deputy Director for Community Relations and, subsequently, Regional Manager, for the Illinois Department of Employment Security in Chicago.
Mr. Alvarez has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a Master’s degree in Corporate and Managerial Communication, both from Northwestern University.
Mr. Bailey is an attorney with expertise in environmental, education and transportation issues and constitutional and administrative law. His background is in public affairs and community outreach.
Prior to joining SDA in 2000, Kirk was Special Counsel at the Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence, assisting the Institute’s public outreach and fundraising efforts and serving as an interagency liaison with Congress and the Departments of Justice, Education and Health and Human Services. Previously, Kirk served as Director of Legislative and Community Relations at the University of Oregon and on the Lane Transit District Board of Directors in Lane County Oregon.
Mr. Bailey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Oregon and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. He is a member of the Oregon Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Mr. Bucciero joined Smith Dawson & Andrews in December 2006 after serving at various levels of government, including positions with the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Port Authority of NY-NJ. At the federal level, Mr. Bucciero was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of HUD, a member of the Secretary’s Policy Steering Group and principal liaison to the nation’s state and local officials. Prior to his tenure at HUD, Michael served as a Special Assistant in the US Department of Commerce focusing on regional economic development.
Michael possesses a strong background in economic development, housing finance, mortgage asset management, information technology and information security, including encryption, data mining, facial recognition and security convergence technology, international trade and transportation.
Mr. Bucciero attended Boston College, is a graduate of Merrimack College and has an M.P.A. from Pennsylvania State University.
Ms. Burrell has over 20 years of experience in Washington D.C. She has served as assistant executive director of the United States Conference of Mayors as well as a New York City Congressional lobbyist. As a member of the senior management team for U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Peña she led negotiations on the conformity rules for the transportation and clean air laws that exist today.
In more recent years, Ms. Burrell was Chief Marketing Officer for the Transportation Division of ACS Government Solutions, a Fortune-500 technology integrator for electronic toll collection, transit smart cards, commercial truck inspections and motor vehicle registration. In 2005, she established her eponymous consulting firm Burrell Project Consult LLC, which partners with SDA to assist clients. Her specialties include economic development, energy, the environment, livable communities, telecommunications and transportation.
Ms. Burrell is a graduate of Brown University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Mr. Gaines joined Smith Dawson & Andrews in 1992 and represents cities, counties and public agencies throughout the United States on issues primarily relating to transportation, land use, endangered species and the environment.
In July 1995, President Clinton appointed Bob a Commissioner on the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). In addition, he has served on several governmental boards and commissions including the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance Task Force on Insurance Industry Taxes, the Iowa Governor's Task Force on Leaking Underground Storage Tanks and the City of Chicago Task Force on Infrastructure.
Mr. Gaines received his law degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, IL, and is a member of the Illinois Bar. He graduated from the University of Illinois and has done post-graduate study at The John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Mr. Garson joined Smith Dawson & Andrews in 2007 as an Associate. He has clerked in both the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. Prior to joining SDA, Brett worked for the American Road & Transportation Builder’s Association (ARTBA).
His issues of expertise include transportation, economic development, trade, education and election law. Mr. Garson’s strong ability to analyze and track federal activities is an invaluable resource to SDA’s clients.
Mr. Garson is a graduate of the University of Michigan and graduated cum laude from American University-Washington College of Law and is a member of the Maryland and D.C. bars.
Mr. Hannigan has a broad public affairs background, with experience in public relations, government relations, grassroots advocacy and media relations in the public and private sectors. At SDA, Mr. Hannigan has focused on health care and higher education issues.
Prior to joining Smith Dawson & Andrews in 2007, Brian served as a departmental deputy director in the administration of former Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner and as communications director for the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority and the City of Alexandria, Virginia. He also previously served as Appointments Secretary to the Governor of Illinois, managing director at Hill & Knowlton Public Affairs, external relations director at PhRMA, a major trade association, and as a consultant to Pfizer.
Mr. Hannigan is a graduate of Saint Louis University.
Ms. Lopez joined SDA in 2008 and serves as a researcher and technical writer. She specializes in technical research, monitors the federal legislative process, plays a role in maintaining client relations and handles administrative matters for the office.
Ms. Lopez has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s Degree in international political economy from the University of Kent, Brussels.
Ms. Lunney joined SDA in 2009 and brings to the firm wide-ranging experience as an executive and lawyer in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Ms. Lunney was Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Commerce, an Intergovernmental Liaison Officer at the U.S. Department of Transportation and Maine’s first State Court Planner. Kit has complemented her government service as a General Counsel in the private sector, as Senior Vice President of an international nonprofit and as a Consultant on strategic and organizational issues in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa.
Ms. Lunney is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, received her law degree from Boston University, attended Stanford University’s Program for CEO's and Senior Executives in Small Publicly Held Companies and is a member of the Maine Bar.
Jailyn Mayrant joined the firm in 2007 as an Administrative Assistant. She has a broad administrative background, having previously worked in the administrative fields for both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Ms. Mayrant attended Frostburg State University in Maryland.
Mr. Newman served as Conrail’s Vice-President and Washington Counsel for 18 years before joining SDA in 2000, where he continues his work on transportation issues and also focuses on climate change, energy, and environmental matters.
Bill assisted Conrail in shifting from a government-owned, money-losing corporation to a privately held, highly successful company that was sold in 1998 for $10.3 billion. During his tenure, Bill worked on the issues of economic and safety regulation, tort reform, taxes, environment, and competitive equity, both in the regulatory and legislative arenas. Prior to joining Conrail, Bill served as committee counsel with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Mr. Newman is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University; an honors graduate of George Mason University Law School, a member of the Virginia and Washington, D.C. bars and has completed the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.
Mr. Warner joined SDA in 1999 after a career spanning military service, the private sector and a range of U.S. government positions. Ray started his career at AT&T and later was senior vice president in the international defense and transportation sector at DGA International Inc. At the U.S. Department of Transportation, Ray was Congressional liaison for what is now the Federal Transit Administration, Director of Congressional Relations and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs.
At SDA, Ray provides action-oriented Washington reporting and representation with expertise in business and government issues relating to aviation and aerospace, rail, transit and automotive transportation. He brings a unique understanding of the interplay of multiple levels of political, legal, commercial and technical issues and interests in U.S. and international defense and transportation sector.
Mr. Warner is a graduate of the College of William & Mary.
Amy Williams has a diverse business background and manages the daily operations at Smith Dawson & Andrews. Prior to joining SDA in 2000, Amy worked as Payroll Administrator/Accountant at The Trane Company and Business Manager at Merrill Gardens Assisted Living Facility. She brings to the firm experience in accounting, payroll, human resource functions, marketing, information technology, as well as a strong administrative background.
Ms. Williams holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Kent State University in Ohio.
Dr. Willis has been affiliated directly and indirectly with Smith Dawson & Andrews since 1994 adding his experience in the fields of higher education, public finance, pension funds and city management to the firm’s expertise.
Ron formerly served as Senior Vice President at Performance Communications Group in Illinois and as Assistant Vice President for Government Affairs at The George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. where he secured more than $60 million for the University. Prior to joining GWU, Dr. Willis served as a congressional aide and then as Staff Director for the House Committee on the District of Columbia. Dr. Willis was the chief negotiator on the legislative package that funded and restructured the District’s $3.7 billion unfunded pension liability.
Dr. Willis is a graduate of The University of Maine and has a Master's Degree and a Doctorate in Education Policy and Higher Education Administration from The George Washington University.
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