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]
MICHELE CAHN
PARTNER
MICHELE CAHN
PARTNER
As the former head of Global Government Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer to an iconic company, Xerox, Michele brings over thirty years of experience and a proven track record of success and expertise in delivering results and driving revenue growth at the highest levels of business. Over her well-respected career at Xerox she led the Global Government Affairs department, managed the company’s Political Action Committee (PAC), philanthropy and compliance programs, and served as Chief Sustainability Officer and as a longstanding member of the Senior Leadership Team. She expertly advised 7 different CEOs through 5 different Administrations and 14 different Congress’s while also managing relationships with numerous state and local elected officials from both parties. Over her career she helped the company secure over a billion dollars in both state and federal contracts as well as designed and lead strategies that leverage public-private partnerships to support funding for emerging technologies while also securing millions in state and local economic incentives for the company’s various manufacturing and realignment plans. She also helped Xerox navigate through multiple acquisitions and divestures. Michele excels at helping organizations achieve measurable results for their organization and managing complex and high-profile initiatives and can serve as a trusted advisor to CEOs, C-level teams and Boards of Directors. Combining adept communications skills with an unwavering commitment to helping organizations succeed, Michele works effectively at building critical bipartisan relationships, aligning stakeholders behind a vision for success and helping organizations expertly navigate through Washington, DC, state capitols and their local communities. Prior to joining Xerox Michele served in the public and non-profit sector in both Massachusetts and Washington, DC and worked on multiple national and state campaigns. Michele received her JD from Northeastern University School of
Law and is admitted to the bar in Massachusetts.
- Phone:+1 (301) 526-5271
- 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]
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]