partners
VINCENT VERSAGE
PARTNER
VINCENT VERSAGE
PARTNER
Vincent Versage worked from 1976 to 1985 on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to Hawaii Senator Spark Matsunaga, and Colorado Congressman Timothy Wirth, and as a campaign aide to Hawaii Senator Daniel K. Inouye.
In 1985, he joined the lobbying firm of Cassidy & Associates where he led that firm's appropriations practice for universities and the defense and aerospace industry for 15 years and lobbied on education, transportation, defense, technology R&D, energy and tax issues on behalf of clients. Mr. Versage is one of the pioneers of the practice of securing earmarked funding for non-profit and profit-making institutions. Mr. Versage was also the lead lobbyist for several major legislative campaigns involving defense contractors including General Dynamics (Seawolf Submarine, New Attack Submarine, F-16 Fighters), and McDonnell Douglas/Boeing (C-17 Cargo Aircraft).
In 2001, Mr. Vincent Versage founded The National Group, which is now one of the leading lobbying firms in Washington, specializing in representation of universities, museums, foundations, medical centers and defense and aerospace contractors before Congress and the federal agencies.
Mr. Vincent Versage also led the lobbying team which helped the California Science Center win the national NASA competition for permanent display of the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour, and secured NASA funding to fly the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment on the Space Shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station.
Mr. Vincent Versage has longtime working relationships with key Members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle and with key Congressional Committees, including Appropriations, Armed Services, Ways and Means and Finance, and Transportation Committees, and with the White House and a number of Executive Branch departments and agencies. Versage is widely regarded as one of the leading lobbyists in Washington and is often quoted by Washington newspapers and national political journals regarding federal appropriations and budget issues.
- Phone:+1(202)496-3441
- Email:[email protected]
MATTHEW TRANT
PARTNER
MATTHEW TRANT
PARTNER
Matt Trant is a 30 year Washington veteran who joined The National Group in 2004, after serving as Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff at another major Washington, DC lobbying firm. Matt represents clients in all of the firm’s practice areas and heads the Transportation & Infrastructure group.
Immediately prior to launching a career in lobbying, Matt served as Deputy Executive Director of the Massachusetts Port Authority where he was responsible for overseeing and directing the day to day operations of the agency comprised of Logan International Airport, the Port of Boston, Tobin Memorial Bridge, Hanscom Field (general aviation airport) and a large portfolio of development in South Boston's Seaport District.
Matt worked on Capitol Hill for 9 years, serving as Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to a member of the House Committees on Transportation & Infrastructure and Government Reform and Oversight, and as a staff assistant to the late Congressman Silvio O. Conte (R-MA), Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Committee.
From 1991-1993 he served as an appointee in the Administration of President George H. W. Bush in Intergovernmental Relations at the U.S. Department of Transportation under then-Secretary Andrew Card; and in Congressional Affairs at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Matt has worked on a number of national, state and local political campaigns and was a supervisor for the Bush-Cheney campaign in the Florida Recount during the 2000 Presidential election.
As a Partner of The National Group, Matt represents a wide range of clients on funding and policy issues related to transportation, defense, privacy, energy, technology, education, homeland security, health care and other areas.
Matt was born and raised in Western Massachusetts and holds a B.A. degree from the University of Maryland at College Park.
- Phone:+1(202) 669-8346
- Email:[email protected]
JEFF LAWRENCE
PARTNER
JEFF LAWRENCE
PARTNER
Mr. Lawrence joined The National Group in 2004 having served for the previous six years as Senior Vice President and Director of Aerospace & Technology at Cassidy & Associates, then Washington DC’s premier government relations firm. While there, he led the firm’s work on behalf of United Space Alliance, Boeing, Alenia Spazio, Fiat Avio, Arizona State University and Columbia University among many others.
His expertise is in finding solutions to the issues his clients face with the federal government and the Congress and creating opportunities for them – both from an appropriations and legislative standpoint. He is expert at working with clients, federal agencies and the Congress and developing common sense solutions that benefit all parties.
Mr. Lawrence served as Associate Administrator for Legislative Affairs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from April 1993 through September 1997. In that position, he was the principal legislative strategist for the nation's space agency and a senior advisor to its Administrator, Daniel S. Goldin. As one of the most senior political appointees at NASA, he was responsible for much of the interaction between the space agency and the Clinton Administration.
While at the agency, he was awarded the Exceptional Achievement Medal in 1995 and upon departing in September 1997 was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award conferred by NASA.
Prior to joining NASA, Mr. Lawrence was Legislative Director to former U.S. Representative Bill Green (R-NY), serving as Appropriations staff to the Minority Member of the VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee.
- Phone:+1(202)496-3490
- Email:[email protected]
VALERIE OSBORNE
PARTNER
VALERIE OSBORNE
PARTNER
Ms. Osborne joined the National Group as a Partner in 2001.
From 1996 to 2001, Ms. Osborne was a Vice President at Cassidy & Associates, where she helped to develop the health care and education appropriations practice.
Prior to Cassidy & Associate, Ms. Osborne worked on Capitol Hill for 6 ½ years as an aide to Congressman Frank Riggs (R-CA) who was a member of both the House Appropriations Committee and the House Committee on Education and Labor. Ms. Osborne served as the key staff person for Congressman Riggs to those committees with a particular emphasis on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and the Education and Labor Subcommittees on Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education and Lifelong Learning.
Ms. Osborne also worked for Congressman Peter Torkildsen (R-MA) as the key staff person on all social, health and education issues and policy.
At The National Group Ms. Osborne plays a key role in the development and management of the firm’s health care, education and non-profit practices and works closely with the Department of Health & Human Services and, in particular, HRSA and CMS.
- Phone:+1(571)436-7517
- Email:[email protected]
DREW WILLISON
PARTNER
DREW WILLISON
PARTNER
Drew Willison is a Partner of The National Group as well as the affiliated firm Oldaker Willison. He served most recently as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid where he led and oversaw a staff of 150 and all aspects of the Senator’s leadership, communications, policy, and national and Nevada political operations. Working with the White House and other congressional leadership offices, he was one of the principal architects of the recent Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the two year federal budget deal that lifted sequester caps, provided dollar for dollar parity between increases to national defense and domestic programs, reformed several entitlement programs, and allowed the annual appropriations process to move forward. Prior to taking on his current role, Drew spent six of the last eight years as either the United States Senate Sergeant at Arms or Deputy Sergeant at Arms. The Sergeant at Arms is the Senate's largest organization, with over 850 employees and an annual budget exceeding $200 million. In that capacity he served as a member of the US Capitol Police Board and led senior managers responsible for all operations, including the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, security and emergency preparedness, police operations (including duties related to the Capitol Police Board), General Counsel, Human Resources, the media and public galleries, the Employee Assistance Program, the Protocol Office, the Doorkeepers, the Page Program, printing, the photo studio, the Senate Post Office, parking, and education and training. Drew previously served as the Vice President of Public Policy and External Relations at Battelle, the world’s largest independent research and development organization. Earlier in his career Drew was the Staff Director of the Energy and Water Subcommittee of the US Senate Appropriations Committee. In that capacity, Drew oversaw the $35 billion per year funding bill for the US Department of Energy, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and several other agencies. Early in his career Drew worked for NASA, the
US Environmental Protection Agency, and in the Office of US Senator Harry Reid. Drew was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and was raised in Ohio, Missouri, Alabama, Connecticut, and Virginia. He earned a BA with Honors in Government from the College of William and Mary in 1988. He also holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Ohio State University (1990) and a Law Degree from the George Washington University (2001). He is the current Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair of the Washington Humane Society and on the Board of Advisors of the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy at the College of William and Mary.
- Phone:+1(202)496-3440
- Email:[email protected]
DAVE MCNITT
PARTNER
DAVE MCNITT
PARTNER
David McNitt is a Partner of The National Group and a non-lawyer Partner of the affiliated firm, the Oldaker Group. Mr. McNitt’s practice focuses on federal regulatory and legislative matters across a diverse portfolio of issues including health care policy, the federal budget, transportation policy, environmental policy and energy policy. He has represented the federal interests of hospital systems, medical device companies, healthcare associations, technology companies, universities and non-profits before Congress and federal agencies. Mr. McNitt joined The National Group in 2005, where he matched clients’ internal funding priorities with federal resources, and secured substantial federal appropriations for projects of regional and national importance. In 2006, Mr. McNitt joined the Oldaker firm, where he focuses on healthcare policy. He has worked extensively on issues relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, extramural federal health care research and programmatic funding and the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act among other legislative and regulatory healthcare matters. In addition to his professional policy and advocacy work, Mr. McNitt has worked on national and state-wide political races, including a presidential campaign. He has advised political action committees (PACs) on compliance issues, and managed federal and state reporting requirements for House, Senate and state candidates.Mr. McNitt grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania, and is an avid Philadelphia sports fan. He left the Keystone state for college and graduated with honors from Tulane University with a B.A. in Political Science and German. He also studied political science at St. Andrew's University in Scotland.
- Email:[email protected]
VINCENT VERSAGE
PARTNER
VINCENT VERSAGE
PARTNER
Vincent Versage worked from 1976 to 1985 on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to Hawaii Senator Spark Matsunaga, and Colorado Congressman Timothy Wirth, and as a campaign aide to Hawaii Senator Daniel K. Inouye.
Founding partner of The National Group
30 years experience as a Washington lobbyist<br. Founded University practice at major DC lobbying firm 8 years Capitol Hill experience
In 1985, he joined the lobbying firm of Cassidy & Associates where he led that firm's appropriations practice for universities and the defense and aerospace industry for 15 years and lobbied on education, transportation, defense, technology R&D, energy and tax issues on behalf of clients. Mr. Versage is one of the pioneers of the practice of securing earmarked funding for non-profit and profit-making institutions. Mr. Versage was also the lead lobbyist for several major legislative campaigns involving defense contractors including General Dynamics (Seawolf Submarine, New Attack Submarine, F-16 Fighters), and McDonnell Douglas/Boeing (C-17 Cargo Aircraft).
In 2001, Mr. Vincent Versage founded The National Group, which is now one of the leading lobbying firms in Washington, specializing in representation of universities, museums, foundations, medical centers and defense and aerospace contractors before Congress and the federal agencies. Currently, Mr. Versage leads National Group lobbying teams for Lockheed Martin Corporation, Intellisis Corporation, Sea Orbiter Foundation, University of Hawaii, Loyola Marymount University, Rochester Institute of Technology, National Jewish Health, Missouri Botanical Garden, and American Film Institute, among others.
Mr. Vincent Versage also led the lobbying team which helped the California Science Center win the national NASA competition for permanent display of the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour, and secured NASA funding to fly the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment on the Space Shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station.
Mr. Vincent Versage has longtime working relationships with key Members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle and with key Congressional Committees, including Appropriations, Armed Services, Ways and Means and Finance, and Transportation Committees, and with the White House and a number of Executive Branch departments and agencies. Versage is widely regarded as one of the leading lobbyists in Washington and is often quoted by Washington newspapers and national political journals regarding federal appropriations and budget issues.
BIO HIGHLIGHTS:
Founding partner of The National Group
30 years experience as a Washington lobbyist<br. Founded University practice at major DC lobbying firm 8 years Capitol Hill experience
EXPERTISE
- Appropriations
- Higher Education
- Defense
- Economic Development
- Energy
EDUCATION
- B.A. from St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY
- Phone:+1(202)496-3441
- Email:[email protected]
MATTHEW TRANT
PARTNER
MATTHEW TRANT
PARTNER
Matt Trant is a 30 year Washington veteran who joined The National Group in 2004, after serving as Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff at another major Washington, DC lobbying firm. Matt represents clients in all of the firm’s practice areas and heads the Transportation & Infrastructure group.
9 years GOP Hill staffer
Deputy Executive Director, Massachusetts Port Authority<br. Appointee in the Administration of President George H. W. Bush
15 years lobbying experience
Immediately prior to launching a career in lobbying, Matt served as Deputy Executive Director of the Massachusetts Port Authority where he was responsible for overseeing and directing the day to day operations of the agency comprised of Logan International Airport, the Port of Boston, Tobin Memorial Bridge, Hanscom Field (general aviation airport) and a large portfolio of development in South Boston's Seaport District.
Matt worked on Capitol Hill for 9 years, serving as Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to U.S. Representative Peter Blute (R-MA), a member of the House Committees on Transportation & Infrastructure and Government Reform and Oversight, and as a staff assistant to the late Congressman Silvio O. Conte (R-MA), Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Committee.
From 1991-1993 he served as an appointee in the Administration of President George H. W. Bush in Intergovernmental Relations at the U.S. Department of Transportation under then-Secretary Andrew Card; and in Congressional Affairs at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Matt has worked on a number of national, state and local political campaigns and was a supervisor for the Bush-Cheney campaign in the Florida Recount during the 2000 Presidential election.
As a Partner of The National Group, Matt represents a wide range of clients on funding and policy issues related to transportation, defense, privacy, energy, technology, education, homeland security, health care and other areas.
He is President of the Dan Trant Scholarship Foundation in Western Massachusetts and serves on the Boards of the Bethesda Little League and KOA youth sports organization.
Matt was born and raised in Western Massachusetts and holds a B.A. degree from the University of Maryland at College Park.
BIO HIGHLIGHTS:
9 years GOP Hill staffer
Deputy Executive Director, Massachusetts Port Authority<br. Appointee in the Administration of President George H. W. Bush
15 years lobbying experience
EXPERTISE
- Federal Funding
- Transportation and Infrastructure
- Higher Education
- Economic Development
- Homeland Security
- Phone:+1(202)669-8346
- Email:[email protected]
JEFF LAWRENCE
PARTNER
JEFF LAWRENCE
PARTNER
Vincent Versage worked from 1976 to 1985 on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to Hawaii Senator Spark Matsunaga, and Colorado Congressman Timothy Wirth, and as a campaign aide to Hawaii Senator Daniel K. Inouye.
Founding partner of The National Group
30 years experience as a Washington lobbyist<br. Founded University practice at major DC lobbying firm 8 years Capitol Hill experience
Mr. Lawrence joined The National Group in 2004 having served for the previous six years as Senior Vice President and Director of Aerospace & Technology at Cassidy & Associates, then Washington DC’s premier government relations firm. While there, he led the firm’s work on behalf of United Space Alliance, Boeing, Alenia Spazio, Fiat Avio, Arizona State University and Columbia University among many others.
His expertise is in finding solutions to the issues his clients face with the federal government and the Congress and creating opportunities for them – both from an appropriations and legislative standpoint. He is expert at working with clients, federal agencies and the Congress and developing common sense solutions that benefit all parties.
Mr. Lawrence served as Associate Administrator for Legislative Affairs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from April 1993 through September 1997. In that position, he was the principal legislative strategist for the nation's space agency and a senior advisor to its Administrator, Daniel S. Goldin. As one of the most senior political appointees at NASA, he was responsible for much of the interaction between the space agency and the Clinton Administration.
While at the agency, he was awarded the Exceptional Achievement Medal in 1995 and upon departing in September 1997 was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award conferred by NASA.
Prior to joining NASA, Mr. Lawrence was Legislative Director to former U.S. Representative Bill Green (R-NY), serving as Appropriations staff to the Minority Member of the VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee.
BIO HIGHLIGHTS:
Founding partner of The National Group
30 years experience as a Washington lobbyist<br. Founded University practice at major DC lobbying firm 8 years Capitol Hill experience
- EXPERTISE
- NASA
- HUD
- EPA
- National Science Foundation
- EDUCATION
- B.A. from Colby College, Maine
- Phone:+1(202)496-3490
- Email:[email protected]
VALERIE OSBORNE
PARTNER
VALERIE OSBORNE
PARTNER
Ms. Osborne joined the National Group as a Partner in 2001.
Founding partner of The National Group
30 years experience as a Washington lobbyist<br. Founded University practice at major DC lobbying firm 8 years Capitol Hill experience
From 1996 to 2001, Ms. Osborne was a Vice President at Cassidy & Associates, where she helped to develop the health care and education appropriations practice.
Prior to Cassidy & Associate, Ms. Osborne worked on Capitol Hill for 6 ½ years as an aide to Congressman Frank Riggs (R-CA) who was a member of both the House Appropriations Committee and the House Committee on Education and Labor. Ms. Osborne served as the key staff person for Congressman Riggs to those committees with a particular emphasis on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and the Education and Labor Subcommittees on Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education and Lifelong Learning.
Ms. Osborne also worked for Congressman Peter Torkildsen (R-MA) as the key staff person on all social, health and education issues and policy.
At The National Group Ms. Osborne plays a key role in the development and management of the firm’s health care, education and non-profit practices and works closely with the Department of Health & Human Services and, in particular, HRSA and CMS.
BIO HIGHLIGHTS:
Founding partner of The National Group
30 years experience as a Washington lobbyist<br. Founded University practice at major DC lobbying firm 8 years Capitol Hill experience
- EXPERTISE
- NHealthcare Policy
- Federal Funding
- Higher Education
- EDUCATION
- B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
- Phone:+1(202)496-3441
- Email:[email protected]
DREW WILLISON
PARTNER
DREW WILLISON
PARTNER
Drew Willison is a Partner of The National Group as well as the affiliated firm Oldaker Willison. He served most recently as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid where he led and oversaw a staff of 150 and all aspects of the Senator’s leadership, communications, policy, and national and Nevada political operations. Working with the White House and other congressional leadership offices, he was one of the principal architects of the recent Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the two year federal budget deal that lifted sequester caps, provided dollar for dollar parity between increases to national defense and domestic programs, reformed several entitlement programs, and allowed the annual appropriations process to move forward. Prior to taking on his current role, Drew spent six of the last eight years as either the United States Senate Sergeant at Arms or Deputy Sergeant at Arms. The Sergeant at Arms is the Senate's largest organization, with over 850 employees and an annual budget exceeding $200 million. In that capacity he served as a member of the US Capitol Police Board and led senior managers responsible for all operations, including the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, security and emergency preparedness, police operations (including duties related to the Capitol Police Board), General Counsel, Human Resources, the media and public galleries, the Employee Assistance Program, the Protocol Office, the Doorkeepers, the Page Program, printing, the photo studio, the Senate Post Office, parking, and education and training. Drew previously served as the Vice President of Public Policy and External Relations at Battelle, the world’s largest independent research and development organization. Earlier in his career Drew was the Staff Director of the Energy and Water Subcommittee of the US Senate Appropriations Committee. In that capacity, Drew oversaw the $35 billion per year funding bill for the US Department of Energy, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and several other agencies. Early in his career Drew worked for NASA, the
US Environmental Protection Agency, and in the Office of US Senator Harry Reid. Drew was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and was raised in Ohio, Missouri, Alabama, Connecticut, and Virginia. He earned a BA with Honors in Government from the College of William and Mary in 1988. He also holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Ohio State University (1990) and a Law Degree from the George Washington University (2001). He is the current Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair of the Washington Humane Society and on the Board of Advisors of the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy at the College of William and Mary.
- Phone:+1(202)496-3440
- Email:[email protected]
DAVID MCNITT
PARTNER
DAVID MCNITT
PARTNER
David McNitt is a Partner of The National Group and a non-lawyer Partner of the affiliated firm, the Oldaker Group. Mr. McNitt’s practice focuses on federal regulatory and legislative matters across a diverse portfolio of issues including health care policy, the federal budget, transportation policy, environmental policy and energy policy. He has represented the federal interests of hospital systems, medical device companies, healthcare associations, technology companies, universities and non-profits before Congress and federal agencies. Mr. McNitt joined The National Group in 2005, where he matched clients’ internal funding priorities with federal resources, and secured substantial federal appropriations for projects of regional and national importance. In 2006, Mr. McNitt joined the Oldaker firm, where he focuses on healthcare policy. He has worked extensively on issues relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, extramural federal health care research and programmatic funding and the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act among other legislative and regulatory healthcare matters. In addition to his professional policy and advocacy work, Mr. McNitt has worked on national and state-wide political races, including a presidential campaign. He has advised political action committees (PACs) on compliance issues, and managed federal and state reporting requirements for House, Senate and state candidates.Mr. McNitt grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania, and is an avid Philadelphia sports fan. He left the Keystone state for college and graduated with honors from Tulane University with a B.A. in Political Science and German. He also studied political science at St. Andrew's University in Scotland.
- Email:[email protected]