You’ve been with JPMorganChase now since 2021. What have you found most rewarding about the experience?

When I began here, I was hired to oversee the JPMC PAC. I’ve since become responsible for voter education resources and our GOTV platform. I also engage with our employee-led “business resource groups,” where I educate colleagues on personal political activity.  JPMorganChase has a geographically, politically and socially diverse employee base.  Throughout my time here, I’ve remained focused on uncovering areas of common interest and the issues that connect us.

And you’ve been involved with the Council for far longer than you’ve been with JPMorganChase.

I’ve been participating in Council activities since 2007. The organizations I’ve worked for have all been members of the Council, so that has been wonderful. The first event I remember was a PAC conference, and the networking opportunities there and subsequent events have been invaluable. I went to the Public Affairs Institute, and while it took me longer to graduate — I took a year off to have a baby — the experience was a great benefit to me in my own work. The range of speakers at Institute is really impressive. We can become so focused on our own segment — in my case, at that time, it was health care — that it was important to gain a more holistic perspective. It’s important to learn critical thinking for strategy and tactics that transcend the sector you’re in. Institute is great for that. I’ve even gone back as a Fellow.

The panel you were on about best in class public affairs functions at this year’s National PAC Conference was very well received. Tell us about that.

What a privilege to represent JPMorganChase on a keynote session exploring how political programs fuel a best-in-class public affairs function – it was definitely a very animated session! I was paired with two other excellent panelists, and there was a fantastic connection with Joe Minardi, from Western Alliance Bank. As two speakers from different parts of the financial services sector, a pre-keynote prep session resulted in a great exchange that focused on a compare and contrast of Western Alliance Bank’s newer and JPMC’s more mature political program. This dynamic made it lively and a good exchange of perspectives. That’s what makes Council programs so valuable.

You’ve spent your career in politics and public affairs, working for three Fortune 20 companies, with prominent trade associations and on federal, state & local campaigns. What were your early ambitions? Is there a field you’ve sometimes thought you might have gone into and didn’t?

My college career started at a branch campus of Penn State University, in Reading, Pa. During the first semester I took a political science class, and when the professor talked about the electoral college it was a moment of clarity for me. I was hooked. The rest of my undergraduate work focused on political science and American history. I went back to school 25 years later, during COVID, and got my MBA from the University of Maryland. That degree has enhanced everything I do in both politics and public affairs.

So how did the undergraduate interest in political science change your life’s direction?

My work in politics began some time ago. My first two jobs were with national party committees. I moved to Bangor, Maine, and did fundraising for a congressional candidate during the 2002 election cycle. Then I spent four years doing fundraising for members of Congress, before going in-house with health care trade associations and large corporations. JPMorganChase was a big sector shift for me, moving into financial services. I’m a proud employee and I like this job as much as the first day I started here. I’ve been extremely fortunate to work in politics and public affairs since moving to D.C. in the late ‘90s.