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Government Relations Strategies (GRS) is a leading government affairs firm located in the Portland Metropolitan Area. To accommodate clients' legislative needs GRS also maintains office space in Salem, Oregon. GRS consistently produces successful outcomes for its clients. Our clients include publicly traded corporations, large corporations that operate in multiple countries, professional trade associations, non-profit organizations, and a variety of local governments.

20+ years

Hasina Wittenberg is president of Government Relations Strategies (GRS), a leading government affairs firm located in Portland metropolitan area. Wittenberg began her lobbying career in 1993 working for the League of Oregon Cities. She then went to work for a contract lobbying firm until 2005 when she formed Government Relations Strategies Inc. With more than 20 years of experience, she provides legislative advocacy for numerous clients by cultivating and maintaining strong relationships with both local and state officials and Oregon lawmakers. Clients include publicly traded corporations, multinational corporations, professional trade associations, non-profit organizations, and a variety of local governments. Hasina's diverse client background and experience in multiple audience communications has led to the development of highly successful government relations programs through written and oral promotion, policy development, and program evaluation and management. She consistently produces successful outcomes for her clients, and has worked to achieve bipartisan support on many legislative issues.

Greg has been a force in public affairs and lobbying for the past 18 years, helping execute effective and successful government relations and public policy strategies for Fortune 500 companies, corporations, non-profits, labor organizations and trade associations.

A graduate of Oregon State University, Greg grew up in Natick and is well-known in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. political circles, as he’s worked with many of Massachusetts’ top elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton and former Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, among others.

Greg served as Chief Operating Officer of one of Boston’s most successful communications and public affairs firms before launching the public affairs division at Tenax in 2016 with his brother Pete.

Greg is an expert at public affairs, especially in highly-regulated industries. He’s worked effectively and successfully at the local, state and federal level, including representing interests in multiple states across the country for global corporations. He’s built coalitions to support strong public policies at every level of government, lobbied lawmakers locally and nationally, and created innovative strategies to overcome regulatory and legislative roadblocks for a variety of businesses and organizations.

His specialties include long- and short-term strategic planning; media and public affairs strategy; message development and discipline; earned media consulting; and managing grassroots, employee, stakeholder and customer communication mobilizations to impact public policy.

Whether it's fighting for free industry, creating protections for health care consumers, waging a local public affairs campaign, engaging elected officials to advance public policy or helping a business cut through legislative or regulatory red tape, Greg has the experience, relationships and knowledge to draft a strategic blueprint to get the job done.

SHERRY DOCTORIAN

(Missouri)

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

Ms. Doctorian concentrates her practice in the areas of administrative and regulatory law. She represents business entities who have sales and use tax disputes with the Department of Revenue, as well as representing professional licensees, primarily physicians, in matters before the professional licensing boards.

Ms. Doctorian's experience includes representation of life and health and property and casualty insurance companies in matters before the Missouri Department of Insurance, including Form A hearings, agency and agent licensure matters, and market conduct examination disputes.

MATTHEW MCKENNA

(Massachusetts)

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

0-5 years

An expert in legislative and regulatory affairs, Matthew is a seasoned government relations professional and strategic communications specialist who puts his expertise to use for a wide variety of sectors.

A U.S. Army veteran who served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Matthew has worked to improve benefits for first responders, including enacting new rules to help firefighters who get cancer on the job. He’s also worked to create innovative job training programs for developmentally disabled youth and adults.

Matthew was a key lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project to successfully legalize cannabis in Massachusetts and advises new cannabis companies on municipal licensing, compliance, business strategy and community engagement. Additionally, he has advised clients with municipal development projects as a consultant on construction, building trade and general union issues.

Prior to joining Tenax, Matthew worked as director of communications and intergovernmental relations for the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services. In that role, he worked with every state agency and the Massachusetts legislature on veterans’ issues. He also worked on economic development issues, including helping launch a program with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce to link veterans with employment opportunities and advocating for a veteran-owned business preference for state contracting. Prior to DVS, Matthew spent seven years working for state Senator Steven Tolman as his chief of staff and district director.

A graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in political science, Matthew is a 22-year member of the U.S. Army National Guard. He currently serves as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 and a Blackhawk helicopter instructor pilot. He also serves on the boards of Massachusetts Fallen Heroes and Alternative Treatment for Veterans, a nonprofit that advocates for cannabis therapy for vets.

He lives in Braintree with his wife and two children.

GREGORY LESTINI

(Ohio)

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

Greg Lestini focuses his practice on the connection between law and public policy, utilizing years of experience in state and local government. He advocates for trade associations, private business and not-for-profit interests before the Federal Government, Ohio legislature, state agencies and regulatory bodies. Greg also serves on Bricker & Eckler's Southeast Ohio and Shale task forces.

Greg advises clients on complex regulatory and legislative issues in the insurance, health care, financial services and public sector industries. He also lobbies state, local and federal elected officials on behalf of those clients. His counsel includes strategic planning, coalition building, legal analysis and legislative drafting advice.

Greg is a former Chief of Staff for the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus; a Legislative Analyst for the Office of the President Pro Tem of the Columbus City Council; and a legislative aide with the Ohio Senate. Following law school, Greg also participated in Americorps' Legal Service Corps, practicing eviction defense for clients in Northwest Ohio as an attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality located in Toledo.

DEMETRIUS DELOATCH

(North Carolina)

CLARE HESTER

(Mississippi)
Clients:

1) Accelerate Learning, Inc.

2) American Medical Response

3) American Petroleum Institute

4) American Research and Policy Institute (ARPI)

5) AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP and its Affiliates

6) Asurion

7) Bayer U.S. LLC

8) Beau Rivage Resorts, Inc.

9) BetterLesson

10) Capitol Resources LLC

11) Catapult Learning

12) Centene Corporation on behalf of its affiliates and subsidiaries

13) Cicero Action

14) Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC

15) Community Health Center Association of Mississippi, Inc.

16) Crooked Letter Picture Company

17) Data Recognition Corporation

18) Diamondhead Water & Sewer District

19) Drax Biomass Inc.

20) Equifax, Inc.

21) Ergon, Inc.

22) Ernst & Young LLP

23) Exxon Mobil Corporation

24) Fortinet, Inc.

25) Gainwell Holding Corp.

26) Gulf States Toyota, Inc.

27) Hazel Health

28) HB Strategies on behalf of Good Rx

29) Health Resources LLC

30) Horne LLP

31) IGT and Its Affiliates

32) Ingalls Shipbuilding

33) Intervest Corp.

34) Kansas City Southern Railroad Company d/b/a Canadian Pacific Kansas City and as CPKC, is wholly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Kansas City Limited

35) Kohler Co.

36) LS Power Midcontinent, LLC

37) Madison County Board of Supervisors

38) McLANE COMPANY, INC.

39) MedeAnalytics

40) Medical Transportation Management, Inc.

41) MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc.

42) Memorial Hospital at Gulfport

43) MetaMetrics, Inc.

44) Milliman, Inc.

45) Mississippi Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

46) Mississippi Association of REALTORS

47) Mississippi Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians

48) Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board

49) Mississippi Consumer Finance Association

50) Mississippi Counseling Association

51) Mississippi Economic Council

52) Mississippi Economic Development Council, Inc.

53) Mississippi Healthcare Collaborative

54) Mississippi Optometric Association

55) Mississippi Orthopaedic Society

56) Mississippi Physicians Care Network

57) Mississippi Public Broadcasting Foundation

58) Mississippi Section, American College of Obstertricians & Gynecologists

59) Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure

60) MS Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs

61) NextEra Energy Resources, LLC

62) NOLA Education,LLC

63) Ochsner Health System

64) PATH Company LLC

65) Pine Gate Renewables LLC

66) PMI US Corporate Services Inc. and Affiliates

67) Reason Foundation

68) Regional Medical Center (Regional One Health)

69) Republic Services of MS / BFI Waste Services LLC

70) Samsara Inc.

71) Scholastic Inc

72) Secure Democracy USA And It's Affiliates

73) Sharecare

74) Singing River Health System

75) Southern Beverage Company, Inc.

76) Southern Renewable Energy Association

77) Spire Mississippi Inc.

78) State Shield Action

79) STChealth LLC

80) Stercus Bioanalytics, LLC

81) Teaching Strategies

82) The Learning Internet, Inc. DBA Learning.com

83) The University of Southern Mississippi

84) Thrivist

85) Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

86) Turo Inc.

87) Uber Technologies, Inc.

88) Unite USA Inc. (dba Unite Us)

89) Universal Health Services, Inc.

90) Wonderschool

91) Workday

92) yes. every. kid

93) Youth Villages