Senior Staff

FD Americas Public Affairs includes more than 50 senior-level public affairs and communications experts drawn from the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Members of the team have held some of the most high-profile positions in the United States and across the Americas, such as: former congressional press secretaries, leadership and administration staff; former print, broadcast and online journalists; former corporate communications executives; and public relations agency professionals.

Edward Reilly | CEO Americas

Edward Reilly is CEO Americas of FD International Limited and an Executive Committee member of FTI. With an extensive background in campaign management and attitudinal research, Edward has led myriad innovative communications programs that advanced the objectives of his clients across a spectrum of industries and pursuits. Before becoming CEO of FD in the Americas, Edward served as president and chief operating officer. He also was head of the company’s Business Consulting practice, a specialty area that focuses on research-driven communications strategy. Before joining FD, Edward founded and was CEO of Westhill Partners, a leading management consulting firm specializing in communications strategy. Edward also previously served as vice chairman of BSMG Worldwide and chief executive officer of KRC Research, the market research division of Bozell Worldwide. For the past three decades, Edward has worked as a campaign strategist to political candidates. His experience as a political strategist also includes directing a number of successful political campaigns throughout Latin America, including in Colombia, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. Additionally, Edward served as campaign advisor, overseeing a number of public opinion studies that informed communications campaigns, including the Government of Poland during its transition to a free market economy in 1990; for the Government of Hungary in 1991 in relation to its privatization program; as well as comprehensive research efforts assisting Russia’s massive privatization program in 1992-93; and Romania’s privatization program in 1993-95. Earlier in his career, Edward served as the director of policy to the Governor of Massachusetts and as the Massachusetts Undersecretary of Environmental Affairs.

Debra Cabral | Managing Director and General Manager, Washington DC (USA)

Having served in a leadership role in FD’s Public Affairs practice for more than 10 years, Debra provides expertise in public affairs and strategic communications to corporate, association and nonprofit clients. In addition to creating a practice area that specializes in meeting the public affairs and communications needs of nonprofits, Debra has led the public affairs practice for many of FD’s technology and telecommunications clients. Debra began her career on the staff of former House Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. After working for the Speaker for seven years, Debra served for Representative Lee Hamilton on the staff of the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. Debra led the Washington, DC office for California-based Foundation Health Corporation (now Health Net Federal Services), providing Washington representation, public affairs and corporate communications support for a TriCare military health care program. She served as Vice President of Communications for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and for several boutique lobbying and public relations agencies including The Capital Group, The Jefferson Group and Nutter & Harris. Debra earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The George Washington University.

Tom Conway | Managing Director

Having served in a leadership role in FD’s Public Affairs practice for more than 10 years, Tom Conway plays a unique role providing clients with strategic direction to ensure the seamless integration of creative concepts into overall campaign strategies. His expertise is in marketing, branding, advertising, creative design and issues management. Prior to joining FD Americas Public Affairs, Tom worked for Fenton Communications. Prior to Fenton, he helped found public affairs agency Maurer, Fleisher, Anderson & Conway. Tom began his career in politics serving on the McGovern Campaign and later for the Graphic Arts International Union. He utilizes innovative technologies and tactics, as well as traditional public relations tools to develop comprehensive campaigns and design concepts for clients such as the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, American Trucking Associations, Shell Exploration and Production, Household Finance, TCS, Business Software Alliance and Pepco. Tom has overseen the development and implementation of a number of award-winning campaigns and has counseled clients such as Pan American Airways, World Airlines and the Navajo Indian Nation.

Chris Kelley Cimko | Managing Director

Chris Cimko has been a leader at FD Americas Public Affairs for more than two years. She brought to FD Americas Public Affairs more than 35 years of expertise in public affairs and strategic communications. Prior to joining FD Americas Public Affairs, Chris held senior-level positions at leading public relations and consulting firms including ICF International, Burson-Marsteller and Edelman. At Burson, Chris founded the company’s global defense practice. At Edelman she led the Image and International Affairs team. She has provided strategic counsel and directed public affairs campaigns for leading organizations including AT&T, BAE Systems, Boeing, Raytheon, Nissan, Fugi Photo Film USA, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Chris has also developed public affair programs for the governments of Jordan, Mexico, Portugal, Angola, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Chris also served in senior roles in the U.S. Government including Communications Director for the Senate Armed Services Committee, Director of Public Affairs for the 1993 Base Closure and Realignment Commission, and press secretary for then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney.

Trudi Boyd | Managing Director

Trudi Boyd has held a leadership role at FD Americas Public Affairs for more than 10 years. With more than 20 years experience in public affairs, media training, grassroots and coalition management, Trudi develops successful public affairs campaigns for many of our clients on issues related to agriculture, food, nutrition and health care such as the International Dairy Foods Association, PhRMA, Medicines Company, Pernod Ricard, Grocery Manufacturers of America and the American Council on Fitness and Nutrition. Trudi began her career in broadcasting and later left the news industry to serve as Press Secretary and Chief of Staff to Representative Larry Combest of Texas where she was responsible for media and legislative initiatives. After leaving Capitol Hill, Trudi served as Director of Media Relations for the National Association of Manufacturers, one of the nation’s leading voices for the business community. As a former news broadcaster, Trudi also provides media and presentation training for many of our clients.

Brian Kennedy | Managing Director

Brian Kennedy joined FD Americas Public Affairs in 2008 to leverage his credentials in the field of energy policy and expand the agency’s robust practice in this area. Brian is a Capitol Hill veteran, having served in high-profile roles including Press Secretary to House Republican Leader John Boehner, Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director for the House Committee on Resources, and chief spokesman for both the House Energy Action Team and the Speaker’s Task Force for Affordable Natural Gas. Prior to joining FD Americas Public Affairs, Brian was also one of four co-founders of the Washington, D.C., office of the Institute for Energy Research (IER). Today, Brian is using his decade of energy policy and communications expertise to develop cutting-edge public affairs campaigns for notable clients such as the Independent Petroleum Association of America, Alabama Power, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Consumer Energy Alliance.

Miguel Silva | Managing Director

Miguel Silva is the director for FD Latin America and founder of FD Gravitas. He has more than 15 years of experience in strategic communications. Miguel has advised governments in Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, Brazil, Bolivia and El Salvador, in addition to several presidential campaigns in Latin America. Among his corporate clients are firms such as BanColombia, Visa International, BP, Northrop Grumman, Coca-Cola, the Panama Canal Authority, Philip Morris, Polar, El Tiempo and Grupo Santo Domingo, among others. Previously, Miguel coordinated Weber Shandwick´s Latin America network and managed Shepardson, Stern & Kaminsky's international practice in the late 1990s. Miguel has also served as private secretary and chief of staff to the President of Colombia, as well as chief of staff to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States. He was president of Grupo de Publicaciones and Telecomunicaciones Semana, which publishes the newsmagazine Semana, and founded the pan-regional magazine Gatopardo. Miguel has a law degree from the Universidad de los Andes with latter studies in literature in Spain.

Jackson Dunn | Managing Director

Jackson Dunn is a managing director in Washington, D.C., where he counsels clients on communications strategies surrounding both domestic and international public policy matters. Prior to joining FD, Jackson spent 15 years at the intersection of national politics and policy as an aide to President Bill Clinton, Senator John Kerry, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Terry Sanford. In the Clinton White House, he was associate director of Public Liaison, coordinating the business community’s support of President Clinton’s economic and trade agenda, including the successful efforts to pass the New Markets Initiative and to secure PNTR for the People’s Republic of China. He is on the Advisory Board of the American Security Project, a nonprofit, bipartisan policy organization to develop a national security vision and strategy for the United States in the 21st century. He holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

Don Millar | Managing Director

Don Millar is a managing director in Vancouver, Canada, who combines a unique ability to communicate clearly and creatively on complex issues with award-winning skills in the execution of issue advocacy advertising campaigns. His client work has focused on companies such as the BC Transmission Corporation, EPCOR, InBev and MGM MIRAGE; public interest groups including the Canadian Boreal Initiative, League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club; as well as numerous universities. Previously, Don was CEO of The Element Agency, a leading strategic communications consultancy specializing in sustainability, issue advocacy and corporate social responsibility initiatives. FD acquired the Element Agency in January 2009. Don also serves as a senior advisor to prominent public officials in Canada and the United States. He frequently appears in the media as a commentator on environmental and political issues.

Grant Draper | Managing Director

As a managing director based in New York, Grant Draper marries experience in the investment banking, political and environmental arenas with award-winning leadership in the effective use of the Internet to achieve public policy objectives. His client work has focused on companies such as AIG Global Marine, Coca Cola, EPCOR and MGM MIRAGE; pubic interest groups including American Rivers, the League of Conservation Voters and the Nature Trust of British Columbia; as well as numerous universities. Previously, Grant was president of The Element Agency, a leading strategic communications consultancy specializing in sustainability, issue advocacy and corporate social responsibility initiatives. FD acquired the Element Agency in January 2009. Grant has also served as a senior advisor to the Attorney General of New York and managed research and marketing for a private equity fund and an investment bank. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University.

Nicolas Platt | Managing Director

Nicolas W. Platt is a managing director with more then 30 years of multi-national expertise in strategic consulting. Before joining FD, Nicolas was managing director, Mergers and Acquisitions at the investment banking firm of Rodman & Renshaw. Prior to joining Rodman, Nic was president of CNC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNC-AG, a firm based in Munich, Berlin, Moscow and New York. Before joining CNC-AG, Nic was an executive vice president in the Financial Communications and Strategic Resource Group at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and previously led Young & Rubicam's and Burson-Marsteller's Corporate Practice. Before joining Burson-Marsteller in 1997, Nic was a senior managing director at Robinson Lake / Bozell Sawyer Miller. Nic was also previously executive vice president of Strategic Planning for NovAtel Communications Ltd., and spent 13 years on Wall Street as an executive with both the New York and American Stock Exchanges. In 1992, Nic launched the Amex’s Latin American initiative program with Chairman James Jones, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Nic received his M.A. in economics from Columbia University in 1978 and a B.A. with highest honors from Skidmore College, 1976. He sits on the public boards of the Bancroft Convertible Fund and Ellsworth Convertible Growth and Income Fund and served as the National Chairman for the Columbia College Parents Fund.

Brian Maddox | Managing Director

Brian has assisted clients from the public and private sector since the early 1980s in a range of communications challenges, often when issues have reached a point of high tension, with the media, business leaders, governmental officials and local constituencies actively involved in the public debate. He has also handled assignments at every level of government — international, national, state and local. A core practice for Brian, over the past quarter century, has been the promotion of financial innovations (high yield bonds for Drexel Burnham; swaps for ISDA; securitization for a wide range of clients, mutual funds and alternative such as PE and hedge funds). He has also assisted clients in these areas when regulatory and legislative attacks have taken place. A native of California, Brian earned a B.A. in Philosophy (Logic/Ethics) from Pomona College and an M.A. in French, Spanish and English from UCLA. He is also proficient in Italian and German. Brian is an appointee to the Mayor’s Volunteer Committee in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and is on the boards of the Old Croton Aqueduct, The Dobbs Ferry Historical Society and the UNUSA, the United Nations Association in Westchester.

Stacey Morton Bowlin | Senior Vice President

With more than 14 years of experience in corporate branding, marketing programs, product management, event planning and business development, Stacey helps FD Public Affairs develop and execute standout communications strategies on behalf of the firm and its clients. Most recently, Stacey provided strategic communications counsel and support to Quinn Gillespie & Associates, a prominent Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, and Ford Motor Company's philanthropic arm, Ford Motor Company Fund. Prior to its acquisition by FD, Stacey created and implemented a growth-oriented marketing strategy as vice president for Dittus Communications. Before coming to Washington D.C., Stacey worked in the technology arena, creating a new market for streaming media. In the midst of the Internet boom in the late 1990s, she was integral in the launch of an enterprise Webcasting application and the subsequent product transition during the mergers and acquisitions between Netpodium, INTERVU and, ultimately, Akamai. Stacey also led marketing and public relations efforts for a go-to-market consultancy in Seattle and managed executive visibility programs for Alexander Ogilvy in Atlanta. Stacey holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University.

Travis Larson | Senior Vice President

Travis Larson joined FD Public Affairs from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), often referred to in the media as Wall Street’s most powerful trade association. There, he served as Vice President and most recently Managing Director of Strategic Communications. In those roles, he designed and directed global strategic communications initiatives on a variety of financial services issues and special situations affecting the industry, including the association’s rapid response team to the unfolding financial crisis. Travis’ expertise lies in strategic communications campaigns to achieve results in the financial sector and in Washington. In the run-up to the merger of NYSE Regulation and NASD and in the face of early opposition to that deal, he created a successful strategic communications plan that resulted in member-firm approval of the merger. He also spearheaded a communications plan that supported the merger of the Securities Industry Association and the Bond Market Association to form SIFMA. Travis has also led strategic communications efforts to educate and influence policymakers on Capitol Hill on the issue of extending capital gains and dividend tax rates. At the state level, Travis has led issue-focused media campaigns in defense of short selling as a trading strategy. Travis also served as SIFMA’s spokesperson to trade, regional, national and global media. Travis took 10 weeks of leave from SIFMA to serve on McCain’s 2008 Presidential Campaign, where he worked advance and press relations leading up to Super Tuesday. He also served as Press Assistant to McCain during his 1999–2000 presidential campaign. Travis has also worked as Director of Communications for Clear Channel Communications and as Manager and later Director of Communications at The Cellular Telecommunication & Internet Association (CTIA).Travis holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Georgetown University.

Laurie Rossbach | Senior Vice President

After joining FD Americas Public Affairs in 2007, Laurie was tapped to apply her years of public affairs and public relations agency experience and strong strategic planning, media relations and issues management capabilities to grow FD Americas Public Affairs' technology and telecommunications practice. Laurie has designed and implemented award-winning public education programs and has helped her clients achieve important business successes through her communications efforts. A veteran of Washington, D.C., public affairs, Laurie has played a role in many leading issues and events — from Bill Clinton’s landmark speech on U.S.-China relations in 1997 and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s March 2000 visit to the Northern Virginia Technology Corridor to the gala opening of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center and the dedication of the National World War II Memorial on May 29, 2004. Today, Laurie provides public affairs and strategic communications expertise and leadership to many of FD’s technology clients including the Business Software Alliance, SAP Americas, MHz Network and others.

Diane Smiroldo | Senior Vice President

Diane joined FD Americas Public Affairs in 2008 after having been a client of the firm for more than a decade. Prior to joining FD Americas Public Affairs, Diane served as the vice president of public affairs for the Business Software Alliance (BSA) where she was responsible for managing the association’s communications and public affairs programs for member organizations such as Dell, Adobe, Symantec and Microsoft. During her more than 15 years at the BSA, Diane was instrumental in branding the association as one of the world’s leading technology trade organizations. She also led communications and grassroots for several successful industry coalitions on major policy issues including encryption policy, technology mandates, copyright law, patent reform, climate change and rail transportation. Prior to joining BSA, Diane served as public relations manager for the Edison Electric Institute where she managed public relations campaigns on energy policy issues including clean air, global warming and nuclear power. Diane has more than two decades of experience specializing in technology policy issues and deep expertise in global branding, public affairs, media relations and message development.

Casey Clark | Vice President

With a decade of public affairs experience, Casey’s expertise includes corporate and strategic communications, which he has used to serve clients including the American Trucking Associations (ATA), Society for Science & the Public and TASER International. Before joining FD Americas Public Affairs in 2007, Casey was a senior associate and then a manager at Burson-Marsteller, where he provided communications services for Fortune 100 companies, government entities and trade associations. As a marketing manager for technology services company Advanous, Casey directed marketing and communication efforts for the company, including advertising. Casey solidified his communications skills early on as deputy chief of staff and director of executive communications at the American Chemistry Council (ACC). He later became communication specialist for the ACC. Prior to joining ACC, Casey held several positions in the Executive Office of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, most recently serving as director of operations where he managed both a domestic and international agenda for the world’s largest business federation. He graduated from the University of Dayton with a bachelor’s in communication management.

Lawrence Pacheco | Vice President

A public relations and policy specialist for 16 years, Lawrence is a vice president in FD Americas Public Affairs’ Washington office where he lends his expertise on climate change, electric utility industry issues and other advanced energy technologies for clients such as Shell Exploration & Production, FutureGen Alliance, Community Power Alliance, the Salt River Project and the Center for Clean Air Policy. Lawrence previously served on Capitol Hill as communications director to U.S. Representative Mark Udall. As a senior advisor, he implemented a strategic, proactive, multimedia communications plan for a recognized leader on the energy and environment front. In addition, Lawrence held multiple positions in the office of Colorado Governor Roy Romer, including press secretary during Gov. Romer’s transition out of office; deputy political director; and legislative/legal assistant. Lawrence also helped start a statewide grassroots education and policy civil rights institute, where he provided media training, research and grassroots organizing for advocates in 10 states. Lawrence has worked on a number of state and federal campaigns, including Citizens for Romer ’94, Clinton/Gore ’96, Ken Salazar for U.S. Senate and Rep. Udall’s re-election campaigns and his successful 2008 campaign for U.S. Senate.

Brent McGoldrick | Vice President

Brent McGoldrick is a vice president in the Washington, D.C., office. He has worked in the fields of public affairs and brand research in Washington, D.C., and New York for more than 12 years and currently conducts and manages much of FD’s public affairs polling, including the Diageo/ National Journal Hotline survey. In 2004, Brent ran the state-wide grassroots, Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) and direct mail campaign for Bush-Cheney ’04 and the Republican National Committee in a key “battleground” state. He was also co-founder and vice president of Grassroots Targeting, LLC, where he developed their micro-targeting and market segmentation business for political campaigns and corporate and public affairs clients. Prior to joining FD, Brent worked for Edelman Public Relations, managing its public affairs, corporate reputation, crisis management, stakeholder and micro-targeting research for its Washington, D.C., office. Brent has appeared on CNN’s Inside Politics, written for Campaigns & Elections magazine, and has been quoted in publications such as The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report and The Dallas Morning News. Brent is a RIVA Institute-trained focus group moderator, having conducted more than 200 focus groups. He holds an MBA in marketing from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where he served as MBA class president. He also holds a BA in Public Policy from Duke University.