225-572-1726
1846 S. COLUMBINE STREET, SUITE 703, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, 70808,
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20 years of government affairs experience including, policy development, executive branch engagement, drafting legislation, grassroots activities and political campaign strategies
Former vice president of external affairs for UnitedHealth Group
Former legislative and congressional liaison for Secretary Stephen Moret with the Louisiana Department of Economic Development
2) Agilify
4) Baker Hughes
6) Blackrock Funds Services Group
10) Clover
12) Elevance Health, and its Affiliates dba Anthem, Inc.
13) Endeavors
14) GDIT
15) Historic Tax Credit Coalition
16) Intralot, Inc.
Rachel Farmer has 20 years of experience in government affairs activities including, policy development, executive branch engagement, drafting legislation, grassroots activities and political campaign strategies. She has extensive knowledge of health care related issues, state budget and capital outlay processes and economic development business incentives. She joined Cornerstone's in October 2022 and serves as a principal in the Baton Rouge office.
Rachel came to Cornerstone from UnitedHealth Group, where she served as vice president of external affairs and managed the development and implementation of political strategy, relationship development, public policy engagement and overall business advancement initiatives with key state and local policy makers. Additionally, she was responsible for directing all executive and legislative lobbying activities for three state territory, including establishing and overseeing all PAC and corporate political contributions and managing government affairs consultants in each state.
Prior to that, she was a legislative and congressional liaison to Secretary Stephen Moret with the Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED). She reported directly to the Secretary and served as the primary contact for all legislative communication on behalf of LED, assisting the Secretary in the development of strategies and legislative initiatives to further enhance Louisiana's business development efforts.
Rachel also served as the director of governmental relations with Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), where she led legislative and political activities for ABC Louisiana, provided lobbying services and actively tracked legislation and regulation issues of importance to ABC. She has experience working with the Louisiana Division of Administration and the House of Representatives serving as a confidential assistant and legislative analyst, respectively.
Rachel holds a Bachelor of Science with a major in business administration and a minor in political science from Louisiana State University.
Former senior staffer to Governor Bobby Jindal
Top Forty Under 40, Business Report in 2014
National Finance Committee member, Republican Governors Association
Chairman of Emerging Leaders Council, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
2) Agilify
5) Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana
7) Blackrock Funds Services Group
12) Classic Learning Initiatives
13) Clover
14) Conduent, Inc. and its Affiliates
16) Elevance Health, and its Affiliates dba Anthem, Inc.
17) Endeavors
18) GDIT
19) Google Cloud
20) Historic Tax Credit Coalition
21) Honeywell
22) Louisiana Association of Broadcasters
25) Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association
28) Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
29) Motion Picture Association, Inc
30) National Service Office for Nurse-Family Partnership & Child First
31) Osmose Utilities Services, Inc.
32) Palo Alto
33) PayIt, LLC
34) Placid Refining Company, LLC
35) Plexos Group
38) Software AG
39) Sparkhound
42) Trane U.S. Inc
45) Workforce Housing Coalition
46) YMCA
47) Youth Villages
Nial Patel joined Cornerstone Government Affairs in 2011 after more than seven years of service to Governor Bobby Jindal, dating back to his first run for governor in 2003. As one of the longest serving senior staff members for the Governor, Nial worked as the director of scheduling. Additionally, when Governor Jindal was elected to Congress, Nial served as his executive assistant. During his tenure with Jindal, Nial's duties varied from campaigning to research and outreach, working with elected politicians, stakeholders, and government officials from Washington, D.C. and across the state of Louisiana.
Nial holds a Masters in Economics from the Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University (LSU), and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from LSU, where he also minored Political Science and Business Administration.
Originally from New Orleans, Nial attended Holy Cross High School and the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts. In 2014, he was recognized as one of the top forty under 40 leaders in the community, and is alum of the Baton Rouge Leadership and Louisiana Leadership programs. Nial serves on the Southeast Super Region Committee, Greater New Orleans Inc.'s Next Gen Council, New Schools for Baton Rouge Board, Teach for America Board, and is Chairman of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry's Emerging Leaders Council. He has helped raised money for the American Cancer Society, Republican Governor's Association, and several elected officials. Nial currently resides in Baton Rouge.
