Jim Wise has 28 years experience dealing with state and federal governments, as well as directing political campaigns. He directed legislative programs in California for both the State Controller and Speaker of the Assembly before becoming a federal advocate in 1983. In Washington, he worked for a political consulting firm representing a mix of public and private sector clients. He launched his own firm in 1988, providing governmental affairs consulting with particular emphasis on taxation, transportation, communications, technological development and trade, Native American affairs and environmental issues. He also developed fund raising and computer support services for a number of congressmen and not-for-profit organizations. Jim Wise is a graduate of Stanford University.
Scott Dacey has been engaged in government affairs since 1983, having worked in the federal government, the Wisconsin State Legislature, and as a registered lobbyist and political consultant. In the mid 80's he served as a staff member to the legislature's Senate Republican Caucus and participated in a number of successful political campaigns throughout Wisconsin. In 1989, he was appointed by President Bush to serve as legislative liaison for the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. During his tenure he managed several successful policy reform initiatives such as changes to the 8(a) Program and extending procurement opportunities to Native American Tribal governments. In 1991, Mr. Dacey opened a government affairs consulting firm in Washington, DC and has focused primarily on matters impacting Indian tribal governments (including the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), natural resources, trust land management, gaming, appropriations, and the management of political action committees. In 1997, he took a leave from PACE to become the Chief of Staff at the National Indian Gaming Commission, the federal government's leading regulatory agency of gaming conducted on tribal lands. Scott Dacey is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and holds a B.A. in Political Science.
Scott Lane handles transportation, international trade, energy, environment, and healthcare issues for the firm. Mr. Lane served as Vice President of Government Relations at the 10,000 member American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) from 1994 to 2001. In that capacity, he was the principal representative of the Association before Congress, the White House, and key federal agencies. He served as industry spokesman with international, national, and local policymakers and the media; developed and supervised AIADA’s 650-member grassroots and grasstops lobbying network; and represented dealers on the candidate selection committee for a leading industry PAC that raised and distributed over $1 million in PAC funds per federal election cycle. From 1985 to 1994, Lane worked for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) in its Washington, DC Office of Legislative Affairs where he served as Director. Active in national Republican politics, Mr. Lane served as Managing Director of Vice Presidential Operations for the 2001 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Mr. Lane has advised and assisted numerous political campaigns, including the 1996 and 1988 Dole Presidential campaigns, the 1984 Reagan/Bush presidential campaign and the Baker presidential campaign in 1980. In 1995, he was responsible for orchestrating Senator Bob Dole’s announcement of his candidacy for President in Topeka, Kansas. He also played key roles in the 1996, 1992, 1988, and 1984 Republican National Conventions. A graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, Scott Lane earned a Masters of Arts in Communications with an emphasis in Politics and Persuasion and a Bachelor of Arts in Diplomacy and World Affairs.
Kevin McMahon has over 22 years of experience representing corporations and business organizations before Congress, the Executive Branch, and state governments. A member of the District of Columbia Bar and the South Carolina Bar, Mr. McMahon has extensive experience in legislative and regulatory affairs, federal marketing, public policy analysis, and strategic communications. He is a recognized expert on public policy issues in the following areas: transportation, energy, manufacturing, and international trade. He was appointed by both President Clinton and President Bush to serve on the Auto Parts Advisory Committee (APAC). Mr. McMahon served as Chairman of the American Tort Reform Association and remains on their Board of Directors. He is an advocate for enhanced vehicle and occupant safety. In recognition of his commitment to auto safety, he was awarded the Public Relations Society of America “Silver Anvil” award which acknowledges outstanding political advocacy campaigns. Prior to joining PACE, Mr. McMahon was a partner at Nelson Mullins LLP. Before that, he served as Vice President of Government Affairs for a Fortune 500 company—representing their interests in Washington for 14 years. He began his career serving as Legal Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. His areas of responsibility included: commercial law, antitrust, bankruptcy, product liability law, and other civil justice issues. A graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, with a Bachelors Degree in Political Science, Mr. McMahon completed a senior-honors research project in the field of political communications. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and has completed coursework at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) toward a Masters Degree in International Business Development.
Since joining PACE over 5 years ago, Gordon has developed considerable experience in government relations. He has worked with and advocated for small businesses, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, and tribal and local governments on a variety of legislative and regulatory issues. He has extensive experience in working on appropriations, government contracting, healthcare, maritime, transportation, education, and environmental issues. Gordon Kenny holds a Masters of the Arts in Comparative Politics from the University of Delaware and a Bachelors of the Arts in Political Science and Economics from Drew University.
Bryan Vickers has worked in government affairs since 2003. He has extensive experience coordinating Congressional visits, researching legislation and providing information on issues to membership. He has focused on issues surrounding the health care industry for the Hearing Industries Association (HIA), as a key contributor on the state and federal levels, including the FCC. As part of his work with HIA, he was the lead contact for the hearing aid tax credit coalition, whose goal was passage of a tax credit for hearing aid purchases. Bryan has been working in government affairs for the past four year with the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI), a trade association of container manufacturers, where he investigates environmental issues. Bryan also serves as a liaison to the glass protective league unions, informing their membership on glass industry activities. Bryan is a graduate of Radford University and holds a degree in Criminal Justice. Prior to his government affairs work, Bryan was a sales representative in the optical lens industry.
Amanda Waters joined the firm in 2006. She is the operations manager for the firm handling first-line communications including congressional scheduling, research, legislative tracking, small business and technological operations, and fundraising efforts. Ms. Waters has extensive experience with small business management, events coordinating, office management, public relations, and employee retention. Amanda brought to the firm her experience working in human resources including recruiting and retaining employees. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from George Mason University and an A.S. in Business Administration.
With thirty years experience in broadcasting, government, public relations and marketing, Mr. Lindberg brings to his clients a strong understanding of the pressures and demands of the media and public affairs. He specializes in developing strategic marketing and media plans for corporations, government agencies and associations, which have included the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the National Parks Foundation, NASA and the Department of Defense. Prior to founding Lindberg Group, LLC, Mr. Lindberg was a Senior Vice President at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and Hill & Knowlton. He was Chief of Staff for Congressman Matsui and Washington Correspondent for Dun & Bradstreet's Corinthian Broadcasting Group.
Ed Grocholski has more than 14 years of experience in strategic planning, media relations, education outreach, special events, and cause-related marketing for a variety of clients. Prior to joining the Lindberg Group, Ed served as Vice President of Public Education for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. Mr. Grocholski has orchestrated strategic communications for a variety of government and non-government clients, including the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, OSHA, NASA, the Department of Defense, Junior Achievement, Hewlett-Packard and Colin Powell's America's Promise. Prior to joining Ogilvy, Mr. Grocholski was the head of public relations for Junior Achievement. He also worked as news producer for a national radio network, where he coordinated coverage of the Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union.