Mike Vlacich brings over 25 years of experience in public policy, administration and government at every level to open Cornerstone's Concord, New Hampshire office.

He joins the firm following his time at the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), where he was appointed by President Biden to the role of regional administrator. He was responsible for overseeing SBA programs, offices and operations in the SBA's New England region which serves Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Prior to this role, Mike held several positions in the Office of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) with the latest being senior advisor. He provided support to the Senator, Chief of Staff, Legislative Director, State Director, scheduling department and Communications Director on policy, communications and other strategic imperatives. He also held key roles in Sen. Maggie Hassan's office (D-NH) and Gov. John Lynch's office as director of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development.

Along with his government involvement, Mike was president and CEO of a higher education trade association, the New Hampshire College and University Council, a member of the University System of NH Board of Trustees, UNH Alumni Association Board, the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, NH EPSCoR Statewide Committee, New Hampshire Small Business Development Council Advisory Committee, New Hampshire Workforce Opportunity Council and the Governor's Save Our Shipyard Commission.

He has received the New Hampshire Business Review Business Excellence Award. He also earned the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development Award for Excellence, the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire's Above and Beyond Award and was ranked on the Business NH Influencer Index.

Mike received his bachelor's in political science from the University of New Hampshire.

Marc Goldberg joined Cornerstone in July 2023, expanding the firm's public affairs presence to New Hampshire and bringing 17 years of media and strategic communications experience to the Public Affairs team.

Previously, Marc served as chief of staff for the office of Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) since 2016. In this role, he managed a team of nearly 50 staffers across the Senator's D.C. office, five state offices and subcommittee office through the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Before that, he also served as Sen. Hassan's campaign manager as well as her communications director when she was New Hampshire's governor. Other communications roles include press secretary for former Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and communications director for former Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL).

Marc has also served as the independent expenditure director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In this role he focused on running paid-media efforts across the committee's targeted states and building teams of TV, digital and polling consultants for each state.

Marc holds a bachelor's degree in political science with a concentration of American politics and a minor in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Maura Weston brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in political and legislative advocacy to our Concord office.

Maura previously served as President and Founder of MM Weston & Associates. With extensive experience representing a wide range of clients before the New Hampshire legislature and regulatory agencies, she specializes in crafting and executing both short- and long-term legislative strategies, drafting testimony and working closely with policymakers to advance client interests. After founding her own government relations practice, Maura successfully represented clients in key sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, energy and contract procurement.

Her notable achievements include advocating for the deregulation of VoIP services, reforming wireless facility siting processes and advancing net energy metering laws to expand renewable energy markets. Maura has also played a pivotal role in creating new healthcare legislation for collaborative practice agreements and helped invalidate restrictive covenants in physician employment contracts.

Prior to founding MM Weston & Associates in 2006, Maura was a Partner at Rath, Young, and Pignatelli, where she honed her expertise in government relations. Earlier in her career, she worked as an Associate Attorney and Law Clerk at the same firm.

Maura holds a Juris Doctor from the University of New Hampshire School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire. In addition, she is an active member of the American Bar Association and New Hampshire Bar Association and became the sole New Hampshire member of the National League of Women Lobbyists.

Mark Harmon joined Cornerstone in December of 2024, expanding the firm's South Carolina office and solidifying our southern reach and capabilities.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, Mark served as Principal at The Harmon Consulting Group, LLC, where he provided contractual lobbying and consulting services by representing multiple clients before the legislative and executive branches of the South Carolina state government. Previously, Mark worked at Maynard Nexsen, PC, formerly Nexsen Pruet, LLC, as Government Affairs Advisor, also providing contractual lobbying and consulting services at the state level.

Before shifting to contract lobbying and consulting, Mark served as Executive Director of the America Petroleum Institute of South Carolina, advocating on behalf of the oil and natural gas industry before the state and federal government. In this role, he also coordinated with state agencies to ensure oil and natural gas operators were able to get products into high-demand areas during hurricanes and natural disasters. Additionally, Mark cultivated relationships with several of the state's Historically Black Colleges and Universities to promote STEM opportunities in oil and gas.

Prior to his work with the American Petroleum Institute, Mark served as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy for the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. Harmon represented the state's business community and led an internal team responsible for generating the Chamber's public policy agenda, implementation strategy and social media outreach.

Before his time with the Chamber of Commerce, Mark served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus, where he organized campaigns, led ethics compliance and financial accounting and acted as liaison between Caucus supporters and senators to ensure all parties' interests were represented. As part of this role, Mark served as the day-to-day policy advisor to Senate Republican Caucus members and organized legislative session events and annual retreats for members and contributors. During his tenure, the Caucus gained seats and expanded its majority.

Mark received his Bachelor of Science in Ceramic and Materials Engineering from Clemson University.

15-20 years

Penn Lincoln Strategies has fostered many relationships with members of the Connecticut legislature, General Assembly staffers, the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Attorney General, the Secretary of State and agency heads.

Chris, as the Founder and CEO of Penn Lincoln Strategies, LLC (PLS), oversees government relations and strategic communications for his firms' multitude of clients. PLS specializes in providing its clients with streamlined and precise consultation for all of their public affairs and advocacy needs. The firm advises client interests before state legislatures around the country, specializing primarily in the Connecticut legislature while, for some clients, managing their day-to-day association operations and providing strategic communications counsel on how to manage press inquiries and crisis communications/public relations.

PLS, established by Chris in 2016, is a full service firm that is proud of the commitment and professionalism it provides its clients.

Before PLS' founding, Chris worked as the Director of Government Relations for Connecticut based company, TicketNetwork, overseeing and managing the company's government relations for all 50 states and the federal government. In concert with the company's legal department and C-Suite, Chris oversaw a robust consultation and travel budget while managing a network of nearly two dozen national government relations and public relations consultants and professionals.

Prior to joining TicketNetwork in 2015, Chris spent over twelve years with the government relations firm Tobin, Carberry, O'Malley, Riley and Salinger (TCORS) a Hartford, CT based firm that specializes in association management and government relations. In the role of Principal, Chris led daily legislative management for dozens of clients on wide ranging issues from environmental regulation to state budgetary issues, gambling issues to freedom of press matters before the Connecticut State Legislature.

Chris got his start in the political field nearly twenty years ago as a political and campaign consultant on numerous successful local and statewide races in Connecticut.

Chris has a B.S. in Political Science from Ohio Dominican University and currently lives in West Hartford, CT with his wife, Maureen, their son Jake and the family dog, Ripken. Chris is an avid Ohio State Buckeyes fan and believes that Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie.

0-5 years

Prior to joining Vogel Group, Kendall worked extensively in political fundraising in Nashville, TN. She served as the Deputy Finance Director for several elected officials running at the state and federal level including, Governor Bill Haslam (R-TN), Governor Bill Lee (R-TN), U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty. She has also served in varying fundraising capacities on campaigns for Mayor Karl Dean, Mayor Megan Barry, Mayor David Briley, Mayor Jim Coppinger, as well as ROCKCITY PAC, TENNPAC, the Tennessee State Museum Foundation, Tennessee Trucking Association, the Haslam Legislative Fund, Governor Haslam Inaugural Committee and Governor Lee Inaugural Committee.

At Vogel Group, Kendall leads the office's legislative efforts by working extensively with our General Assembly. With the political environment in Tennessee, she understands the complex nuances of working across party lines while representing clients' interests.

A native of Gallatin, Tennessee, Kendall graduated from Auburn University with a B.A. in Public Relations. Alongside her work, Kendall enjoys working with two very important charities CASA Nashville and Mother to Mother. She currently lives in Nashville with her husband and two sons.

6-10 years

Bryan Kaegi previously served six years as Senior Vice President of Government Relations for Acadia Healthcare, a leading behavioral health company. In this role, Bryan was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company's government relations strategy across 40 states and at the federal level. He also led strategic engagement with political membership associations including the Republican Governors Association and the Republican State Legislative Committee.

Prior to joining Vogel Group, Bryan served as the Finance Director for numerous elected officials running at the state and federal level including, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleishmann (R-TN), U.S. Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN). He also served in varying capacities on campaigns for Governor Bill Lee (R-TN), U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett (R-TN), Governor Bill Haslam (R-TN), U.S. Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN).

Shalamar Parham joined Cornerstone in January 2025 after serving as a Senior Policy Analyst with GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group, where she lobbied and advocated on client issues and analyzed legislation to support client needs.

Prior to that, Shalamar served as Policy Manager/Legal Counsel for the Georgia House Democratic Caucus, where she provided policy advice, drafted legislation, and led a team of nine in summarizing over 1,000 bills. Her experience also includes serving as Chief of Staff for former Georgia State Representative Erick Allen (D-GA), overseeing legislative strategies, managing staff, and coordinating with leadership.

In addition to her public policy expertise, Shalamar has an extensive legal background. She worked as the Managing Attorney at her own firm - Parham Law Firm, LLC, where she managed active cases, recruited and developed legal teams, and handled firm operations for more than a decade.

She holds a Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School and a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Valdosta State University.

Lawrence Bell joined Cornerstone in February 2023 from Sen. Warnock's (D-GA) office where he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor. Lawrence joined the Senator's office after serving as an Advisor and Chief of Staff for the Warnock for Georgia Senatorial campaign in the 2020 special election. His leadership role on that campaign led to a historic victory electing the state's first Black United States senator.

Prior to joining the Warnock campaign, Lawrence worked in the Atlanta office of a large law and lobbying firm. There, he represented some of the country's largest corporations, working with state and local elected officials to help shape public policy and regulations across a variety of industries. His role at the firm also included community engagement, helping the organization develop and implement its philanthropic strategy to maximize the firm's impact in the community.

Lawrence has volunteered with numerous organizations including Big Brother Big Sister, Yes Atlanta and Urban League of Greater Atlanta-Young Professionals, among others. He has served on the advisory board for the Young Adult Guidance Center, and the Atlanta Chapter of National Black MBA. He also served on the board for Groundwork Atlanta, a non-profit focused on environmental sustainability and was a Trustee at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he is still a member. Lawrence was recognized in Southern Journal Magazine as one of their 14 under 40. He received his master's from Georgia State University and his bachelor's from Clark Atlanta University.

15-20 years

Penn Lincoln Strategies has fostered many relationships with members of the Connecticut legislature, General Assembly staffers, the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Attorney General, the Secretary of State and agency heads.

Liam's background involves a wide range of experience in government relations, public service, and politics. Liam has worked on both national and statewide campaigns, and lobbied on the local, state and national levels.

Prior to joining Penn Lincoln Strategies, LLC in 2017, Liam served as the Director of Government Relations and Political Affairs at ConnCAN, the state's largest education advocacy organization. In that role, Liam coordinated and directed ConnCAN's diverse legislative agenda at the federal, state and local levels. Additionally, Liam worked in tandem with the organization's leadership and various coalitions to develop strategies that improved educational outcomes for Connecticut students.

Before Liam joined ConnCAN, Liam worked for former U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd in his district legislative office and Presidential campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire. Liam also supported the Connecticut Senate President Pro Tempore's office where he monitored the Majority's legislative proposals and worked on several key legislative campaigns. Additionally, Liam has worked with a wide range of clients from nonprofit organizations to major utility companies and has had several legislative victories ranging from helping pass the State's nationally recognized Minority Teacher Recruitment legislation, authorizing Electric Bikes in Connecticut and establishing the State's Hemp program.

Liam is a member of the Town Council in West Hartford. Liam is also a founding board member of Active City, a Hartford based non-profit group centered around getting 600+ kids in the area active in youth sports. Liam lives in West Hartford with his wife, Whitney and their children Rory and Claire.

Charlene Puchalla serves as an Assistant Vice President in Cornerstone's Atlanta, GA office, assisting the firm's government relations team with client service activities including conducting research and providing updates on state legislative matters and diverse regulatory issues.

Charlene joins Cornerstone following her time at Wellstar Health System, where she held multiple positions, most recently serving as a Government Relations Specialist. In this role, she developed and managed relationships with elected officials and key staff in Georgia at the local, state and federal levels, while assisting in developing and recommending legislative priorities and goals. Charlene gained invaluable experience summarizing and interpreting the impact of legislation and preparing legislative summaries, regular communications and presentations. She also served as a Legal Assistant of Government Relations at Wellstar.

Prior to Wellstar, Charlene served as a scheduler and field representative for Representative Tom Price (R-GA) for more than seven years. She began her career as a legislative and research aid in the Pennsylvania State Senate.

Charlene earned her bachelor's with a concentration in public administration from Shippensburg University.

6-10 years

Mr. Cuzzi launched Prospect Hill Strategies in 2012. Today, David brings over two decades of experience to benefit some of New Hampshire's largest and smallest companies. The results achieved in both New Hampshire and Washington, DC for a diverse client roster demonstrate the Firm's ability to provide full service public affairs and government relations solutions to organizations with varying needs across a range of industries.

David previously worked for BAE Systems' Electronic Systems sector and its legacy businesses in Nashua, NH, in the roles of Manager, Business Development and Director, Government Relations. As a Business Development Manager, he led the strategy, resource planning, and execution of efforts to maintain core business and capture new business for a product line with annual sales of $240 million, including one of the company's most important programs. As Government Relations Director, David was responsible for advocacy at the federal, state and local levels for the Nashua, NH-based sector, which then employed 9,000 people at 16 sites across 7 states, with annual sales of $3.5 billion.

Prior to joining BAE Systems, David served as a top aide to then-U.S. Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) on Capitol Hill, advising the Senator on National Security, Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Veterans' matters, and all issues pertinent to the Senator's service on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Mr. Cuzzi played a critical role in reversing the Department of Defense's recommendation to close the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the 2005, and was a key negotiator in the drafting and passage of legislation reauthorizing the USA PATRIOT ACT in 2006 and 2007, and reforming the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in 2007.

Mr. Cuzzi also served in New Hampshire and Washington, DC as an aide for two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, handling a wide portfolio of issues, including all committee work for a member of the Appropriations Committee. His other career assignments include posts with Podesta Associates in Washington, DC, Putnam Investments in Andover, MA, Bob Dole's 1996 New Hampshire Presidential Primary campaign, and the National Restaurant Association in Washington, DC.

David was born and raised in Waltham, MA. He is a graduate of St. Anselm College, and lives in Bedford, NH with his wife, Christina, and their twin boys. An avid sports fan and golfer, Mr. Cuzzi is active in business and civic organizations. He is honored to serve on the following Boards of Directors: Elliot Health System, McAuliffe-Sheppard Discovery Center, NH Scholars, NH Research and Industry Council, Rivier University President's Circle, and the New Hampshire Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Council. David is Chair of the New Hampshire State Society's annual Educational Opportunity Fund golf tournament, and was an appointed member of the of the NH Telecommunications Planning and Development Advisory Committee, and Board Vice-Chair of the Manchester Community Health Center.

Patrick Love joined Cornerstone in January 2025 after serving as an Attorney Analyst for the Georgia Senate Office of Policy and Legislative Analysis, where he supported standing committees by reviewing all assigned legislation, advising chairs on parliamentary procedures and conducting requested research for senators, leadership and staff.

Prior to that, Patrick served as a Budget and Policy Analyst for the Georgia House Budget and Research Office where he staffed the House Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee which oversees the state's universities, colleges and scholarship programs. In that role, he also staffed the House standing committees on Defense and Veteran Affairs and Science and Technology. Patrick's experiences also include serving as a Legal Services Worker for the Georgia Department of Human Services, Legal Extern for the Georgia Department of Law and Legal Extern for Georgia Senate Office of the Democratic Leader.

He holds a Juris Doctor from Georgia State University College of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from University of Texas at Dallas.

11-15 years

With more than 20 years of experience building relationships between the public and private sector, Tommy Alsup leads state and local government relations efforts for Vogel Group in Tennessee.

Tommy previously served as Vice President of Government Affairs for Envision Healthcare, a $15 billion healthcare and national hospital-based physician group. At Envision, Tommy was responsible for sourcing and managing state-level lobbyists to ensure that the company's strategic goals were met with governors, state legislators, and local officials across the country. His efforts were critical in securing favorable public policy on surprise medical billing issues in Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee.

Tommy is an expert in managing national sales and procurement teams for companies seeking to grow revenue through state and local funding initiatives. He has overseen multiple requests for proposals (RFP) and large-scale procurement contracts for companies and industries alike. Connecting State and local governments with business is crucial in this current environment, and Tommy has accomplished those goals for more than two decades.

Tommy was a senior-level government relations executive at Corizon Health and CoreCivic, the nation's largest owner of correctional, detention, and residential reentry facilities in previous roles.

With a strong and bi-partisan background in Tennessee, Tommy served as Mayor of Oak Hill from 2002 to 2010, where he worked in partnership with Governor Phil Bredesen (D-TN) and Mayor Bill Purcell (D-Nashville). Tommy remains strongly engaged with the office of Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) and his administration.

Tommy received his B.A. in Business Administration from Lipscomb University.

Kirsten Koch joined Cornerstone's Concord team in October 2024, serving as Vice President to assist with executing strategic client initiatives and helping them cultivate strong relationships throughout the state.

Kirsten came to the firm following her time at the Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire (BIA) most recently serving as Vice President of Public Policy. In this role, Kirsten advised the public policy team, driving proactive advocacy efforts and overseeing the policy development process among BIA members. She regularly testified before the state legislature representing the business community on a variety of energy and environmental issues. Kirsten successfully advocated changes to make New Hampshire a more competitive state for doing business, including spearheading key policy initiatives to streamline permitting processes and drive the development of local energy sources. She also directed BIA's largest coalition of businesses while producing educational conferences for the organization.

Before her time at BIA, Kirsten worked as a Legislative Aide for the New Hampshire State Senate, gaining an in-depth understanding of the legislative process and building strong relationships with legislators and state agencies. She served as the aide to the Health and Human Services Committee and the Transportation Committee. Additionally, Kirsten served as Strategic Initiatives Director for the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, leading grassroots initiatives and managing statewide coalitions for federal, state and local elections.

Kirsten is proud to be a lifelong Granite Stater. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science with a law minor from Plymouth State University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Sally Kilpatrick advises a diverse set of clients on state legislative and regulatory issues with a focus on healthcare, energy, education and economic development policy. Sally joined Cornerstone's Atlanta, Georgia office in September 2015 and has more than 10 years of experience providing strategic advice to the private sector.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, Sally served as vice president of government affairs at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the state's largest business advocacy organization. Through her seven-year tenure at the Chamber, Sally developed an extensive background managing legislative and regulatory issues in the policy areas of water, energy, education, economic development and health care. While at the Chamber, Sally served on the Technology Association of Georgia's Government Affairs Taskforce and the Georgia Water Alliance. She managed the Georgia Chamber's Local Chamber Legislative Ad Hoc Committee and legislative affairs for Chamber's Small Business Advisory Council.

She has established strong, bipartisan working relationships with House and Senate members of the Georgia General Assembly and state agency officials. Her industry specific knowledge and key relationships have been valuable in assisting clients to successfully achieve their legislative and regulatory objectives at the state Capitol.

Sally is a current board member of Atlanta Moms Making A Difference and serves on the executive committee of the Georgia Chamber's Government Affairs Council.

Sally earned her B.S. in Journalism at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. She and her husband Trey reside in Atlanta with their daughter, Phen, and son, Clark.

Jeff Hamling joined Cornerstone in 2017, bringing a wealth of experience and relationships in Atlanta, Georgia. Jeff came to the firm after two years as a lobbyist in Dentons' Atlanta and Washington offices where he represented a number of corporate, governmental, and non-profit clients.

Prior to Dentons, Jeff worked at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce as vice president for state and federal affairs. Jeff joined the Chamber after serving then-Congressman Tom Price for over five years. Starting as a staff assistant, Jeff was quickly promoted to deputy chief of staff, overseeing the Atlanta office and various aspects of the federal legislative staff.

Jeff has also been recognized by prestigious organizations for professional accomplishments: profiled in Capitol Impact Magazine's People on the Move, "Rookie of the Year" award voted on by his peers in the Georgia lobbying community, and James Magazine's Georgia's Political Influencers in Washington, D.C.