Professionals
Hon. Richard Gephardt, President & CEO
Richard A. Gephardt is President and CEO of Gephardt Group Government Affairs. He provides strategic advice to clients on issues before the House, Senate and Executive Branch in the federal government. Mr. Gephardt has brought successful resolution for clients on issues related to negotiations, crisis management, and strategic communications. He represents a broad array of Fortune 100 clients on Capitol Hill and before the Administration, in addition to serving as public spokesperson for clients on coalitions to bring about policy solutions to healthcare reform and climate change.
Mr. Gephardt served for 28 years in the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 2004, representing Missouri's 3rd Congressional District, home to his birthplace St. Louis. In his role as Leader, Mr. Gephardt emerged as one of the leading strategists of the Democratic Party's platform and chief architect to landmark reforms ranging from healthcare, pensions, education, energy independence and trade policy. In his first year in Congress, he was appointed to both the House Ways & Means and Budget Committees. He was elected to serve as House Democratic Leader for more than 14 years, as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 and Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003.
Mr. Gephardt was a colleague in the House to 49 currently serving U.S. Senators and members of the Executive Branch. He enjoys strong bipartisan relationships in the House of Representatives, serves as a trusted advisor to senior officials in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, and has counseled numerous CEO's during negotiations with labor. He has been featured in national publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Journal, Roll Call, The Hill and Time.
Widely known for his advocacy for international human rights, Mr. Gephardt currently serves as Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, nonprofit organization that endeavors to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. He is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and an Advisory Board member to the International Conservation Caucus Foundation. He also serves as Advisory Board chairman at the Richard A. Gephardt Institute for Public Service at Washington University in St. Louis, and the Library and Research Center of the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis recently opened The Richard A. Gephardt Collection to represent the life and career of his tenure in Congress.
Mr. Gephardt began his career in public service in 1968 as a precinct captain to St. Louis' 14th ward. From 1971 to 1976, he served as Alderman for the city's 14th ward. In 1976, he was elected to the U.S. Congress, succeeding 24-year incumbent Leonor Sullivan.
Mr. Gephardt earned his bachelor of science from Northwestern University in 1962 and his juris doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 1965. He has been married to his wife Jane for 38 years and they have three children, Matt, Chrissy and Kate.
Matthew Gephardt, COO & Managing Partner
Mr. Matthew Gephardt is Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner of Gephardt Group. Prior to Gephardt Group, Mr. Gephardt was Vice-President of Professional Services at RedPrairie Software, working with such clients as Chevron-Texaco, YUM Brands, Ann Taylor, Blockbuster Video, and Brinker International. Mr.Gephardt joined RedPrairie Software in 2004 as Director of Implementation and Consulting Services.
Prior to RedPrairie Software, Mr. Gephardt worked at Radiant Systems as Senior Manager in Consulting from 2001-2004, working with such clients as Marriott International and HMSHost Corporation.
Mr. Gephardt founded and served as Executive Vice President of Operations for AIM Technologies Inc., an information management technology company from 1997-2001. He also worked as a Senior Advisor on the Gephardt for President 2004 campaign, where he was involved in public speaking, fundraising, public policy and media relations.
Mr. Gephardt has a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University.
Christine Gephardt, Executive Vice President & Partner
Christine "Chrissy" Gephardt is Executive Vice President and Partner of Gephardt Group, LLC. Prior to working for Gephardt Group, LLC, Chrissy was the Client Development Manager at Bernstein, Liebhard & Lifshitz, LLP from, a law firm specializing in plaintiff securities litigation based in New York. Her primary clients were union and Taft-Hartley pension funds.
Prior to that, Chrissy worked in the political arena during the 2004 presidential campaign, first as a Senior Advisor on the Gephardt for President campaign and then as the Grassroots Campaign Director for the National Stonewall Democrats, an organization formed to provide grassroots support to fair-minded Democrats running for public office.
During the 2004 campaign, Chrissy became a national leader in the national gay and lesbian community and has appeared in many media venues speaking on issues of importance to the community. Chrissy is also widely respected as an inspirational public speaker, making many appearances around the country speaking on such topics as social justice, equality and political activism.
Prior to her political experience, Chrissy worked as a clinical social worker serving homeless women at a community mental health center in Washington, D.C.
Chrissy is currently a law student at Georgetown University Law Center and holds a Masters of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor's of Science degree in Communication Studies from Northwestern University.
Thomas J. O'Donnell, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Tom O'Donnell is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Gephardt Group responsible for the Government Affairs practice. From 1997 until 2007, Tom was a partner at Doak, Carrier, O'Donnell, and Goldman (DCO), a leading political media consulting firm. He has been one of the Democratic Party's chief architects of political messages and has been touted as a "star consultant" by the Washington Post. His finely-honed grasp of the interplay between policy and message is well known on Capitol Hill, where his strategic advice on message, politics and policy is highly valued.
At DCO, his strategic media has helped win major elections in contemporary politics, including Gray Davis victories in 1998 and 2002, Chris Van Hollen's back to back upsets in 2002, Antonio Villaraigosa’s historical victory in 2005, and Sherrod Brown's upset of a two-term Senate incumbent in 2006.
In addition to advising dozens of winning campaigns for elective office, O'Donnell has worked with numerous coalitions and organizations on issue advocacy campaigns. On issues ranging from the environment to health care to steel imports to tax policy, he has developed effective messages, innovative media and strategic campaign plans for a wide range of clients, including: Kids PAC, AFL-CIO, Washington Education Association, Emily's List, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Stand Up for Steel, Together for Health Care (coalition of doctor's, hospitals, health care workers, health plans, labor unions, consumers and businesses), California Proposition 46-2002 (housing and homeless shelter bond), California Propositions 12 and 13-2000 (parks and clean water bond), Proposition C-Missouri and Illinois-2000 (parks and clean water bond).
In addition to political strategy and media, O'Donnell has advised some of the world's leading corporations, including: General Electric, AT&T, Verizon and Minor League Baseball.
Prior to joining DCO, O'Donnell served as Chief of Staff to House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt for 8 years. In that position, O'Donnell managed a staff of 60 and interacted with members of Congress, the staff directors of all committees, the White House and the congressional campaign committees. As Gephardt's chief strategist, he was the field general for many of the major political and legislative battles of the 1990's.
A Brooklyn native, O'Donnell worked on key House committees while earning a PhD from American University. He taught at American and at Georgetown University before moving full time to Capitol Hill. Prior to becoming Gephardt's chief of staff, he was the Issues Director and the Deputy Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. O'Donnell is married to Caroline Fawcett and they have three children, Robert, Jake, and Catherine.
Andrea King, Executive Vice President
Andie King serves as an Executive Vice President for the Government Affairs practice at Gephardt Group. Ms. King has twenty-five years of healthcare policy experience. For the past five years Ms. King has worked in government relations, advising and representing healthcare clients on legislative and regulatory matters in their dealings with the Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Prior to this, Ms. King served for eighteen years as Domestic Policy Advisor to Representative Dick Gephardt (D-MO). In that capacity, she advised and assisted Rep. Gephardt with his leadership activities and managed domestic policy initiatives on his behalf in his role as House Democratic Leader. She assisted in the drafting of major legislation on Medicare, Medicaid, health care reform, long term care, child care, welfare reform, Medicare prescription drugs, Patients’ Bill of Rights and education reform. She also served as leadership liaison to the Caucus Member Task Forces on homeland security, children, education, welfare reform, and healthcare.
Ms. King was previously an American Philosophical Association Congressional Fellow, after having taught philosophy at Goucher College.
Ms. King holds a Doctorate in Philosophy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Goucher College.
Sharon Daniels, Senior Vice President
Sharon Daniels brings more than 25 years of experience in the House of Representatives and touts expertise in policy process and parliamentary rules. Ms. Daniels served in the Office of House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO), where she was renowned as his right hand and gatekeeper, interacting on a regular basis with Democratic Members of Congress, Senators, White House officials and officers of the House and Senate.
Ms. Daniels is a founding member and Senior Vice President of Gephardt Government Affairs. In her current role, she oversees government affairs strategy and advocacy for clients on appropriations, climate change, energy and intellectual property issues. Ms. Daniels has particular strengths in coalition management, crisis management, direct advocacy, long-term planning and legislative tactics.
Ms. Daniels joined the House Democratic Caucus as staff to the Office of then-Chairman Gillis Long (D-LA), where she was promoted to Director in 1987. Upon Gephardt’s election to House Majority Leader in 1989, she transitioned to the office. Following Gephardt’s election to House Minority Leader in 1995, Ms. Daniels was tapped to serve as his Administrative Assistant, where she managed the daily operations of the Leader’s office. Ms. Daniels played pivotal roles in a broad scope of Gephardt’s responsibilities as Leader throughout several national policy battles, including monitoring of discussions and strategy between the House, Senate and Administration leading up to and during the 1990 Budget Summit. She also coordinated congressional outreach vis-à-vis the White House’s effort on the 1994 health care initiative.
Ms. Daniels directed logistics on a wide array of House leadership activities including the annual Democratic issues retreats and the Democratic National Committee’s organization of every quadrennial nomination Convention from Atlanta in 1988 to Boston in 2004.
Ms. Daniels began her career as a Congressional page in 1976, a program which she returned to oversee from 1988-2003, managing the selection and appointment of all Democratic pages. At the beginning of the 104th Congress, she was elected by Democratic members of the Minority to serve as House Sergeant at Arms, a position to which she was elected for the three subsequent Congressional sessions.
Ms. Daniels earned her Bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of Maryland, and is married with one son.
Ricardo Gonzalo, Senior Vice President
Mr. Gonzalo is a Senior Vice President of Gephardt Group focused on labor management and business development consulting. He joined Gephardt Group from RedPrairie Software where he was responsible for managing the Retail Consulting practice and working with clients such as Publix Supermarkets, Gaylord Entertainment, Marriott and IKEA.
Prior to RedPrairie, Mr. Gonzalo worked at Radiant Systems where he led large software implementations at clients such as HMSHost and Chick-fil-A. Previously, Mr. Gonzalo was an energy trader and marketer for Mirant Corporation, a Senior Operations Analyst at The Coca-Cola Company, and a Senior Financial Analyst at Kraft Foods.
Mr. Gonzalo holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. Ricardo and his wife Julie have four children, Sofia, Nicolas, Matthew and Brian.
Janice O'Connell, Senior Vice President
Janice O'Connell brings foreign and international economic policy experience spanning three decades, having served as a professional member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Banking Committees. She previously served as Senior Foreign Policy and National Security Advisor to Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-DT), Chairman on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
As a Senior Vice President at Gephardt Group Government Affairs, Ms. O'Connell oversees the firm's international clients, providing strategic, political, and legislative advice to international clients considering market growth in the United States and overseas.
Ms. O'Connell has been involved in broad array of international economic and foreign policy legislation considered by the Senate, including legislation related to direct foreign investment in the United States (CFIUS); economic sanctions policies; reauthorization of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the U.S. Export Import Bank; extradition treaties; bilateral investment treaties; bilateral foreign assistance programs and reform; immigration reform; compensation for victims of terrorism; trade agreements, including the Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative (CBI), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Andean Trade Preference Agreement (ATPA), and the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR); international narcotics cooperation; and U.S. funding and policies related to international agencies, including the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Inter-American Development Bank.
Widely recognized for her specific expertise in U.S.-Latin American relations, Ms. O'Connell provided policy input for Senators participating in the U.S./Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Group, an annual gathering of U.S. and Mexican congressional delegations. She also was a point of contact in the Senate for Latin American embassies, and forged strong relations with many Latin American diplomats during her tenure.
Ms. O'Connell most recently served at Hogan & Hartson as a Senior International Advisor and concurrently as a Senior Advisor with the strategic consulting firm Stonebridge International, LLC. Ms. O'Connell earned her Master's in Economics from the University of Massachusetts and Bachelor's in Math and Economics from Colby University.
Joel Freedman, Consultant
Joel Freedman brings over 30 years experience specializing in legislative and regulatory affairs, having most recently served for 18 years as Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs for The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Freedman stewarded state and federal government relations strategies and activities for the Fortune 100 company's executive team during numerous high-profile industry crises. These included insurance legislative campaigns following the September 11 terrorist attack and Hurricane Katrina. Freedman also directed the company's opening of its first Washington, DC office, acting as the company's chief federal spokesperson and directing several key industry coalitions.
Freedman joined Gephardt Group Government Affairs as a Consultant in 2009 and oversees the firm's financial and crisis management issue clients. Through the course of his career working at the country's most prestigious insurance institutions, Freedman has cultivated cross-cutting policy expertise on banking, tax and financial issue areas, resulting in his unique perspective to clients on the economic Stimulus package and TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) legislation, among others. In his current role, Freedman provides strategic advice and counsel to clients' executive-level teams in addition to representing clients before Congress, the Administration and the White House.
Freedman hails from Connecticut, the historical home of the country's insurance industry and the highest concentration of insurance company jobs of any state. At the time of his tenure at The Hartford, the company rose to the nation's 75th largest company and faced a growing expansion of federal regulation of the insurance sector. From Connecticut and Washington, Freedman led industry efforts in federal and state jurisdictional battles. During the first half of this decade, Freedman was instrumental in the defeat by one vote of Asbestos Trust Fund legislation. He also provided legal counsel on landmark reforms including the Homeowners' Insurance Availability Act of 1997 and formulation of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 and its 2004 and 2007 reauthorizations.
Prior to his tenure at The Hartford, Freedman spent over 10 years in Connecticut's legal and insurance sectors. Freedman was an Assistant Vice President at Connecticut General, and then following its merger with INA, at CIGNA for four years. Freedman also served as General Counsel of the Insurance Association of Connecticut for four years. Freedman began his career at a Hartford law firm and was counsel to the Connecticut Judicial Department.
In the course of his career, Freedman has testified before Congress as an expert in legislative and regulatory issues for the insurance sector. He has been a frequent spokesperson on behalf of The Hartford and the financial services industry and has consistently been looked to for expertise by The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and insurance industry publications. Freedman earned both his bachelor's and juris doctor degrees from the University of Connecticut. Freedman is married to Susan, a partner in one of Connecticut's largest law firms, and has one daughter.
Catherine Goode, Vice President
Catherine Goode joined Gephardt Group Government Affairs in 2009 as a Vice President. Ms. Goode currently directs strategic communications and provides government relations counsel to clients. She has strong experience in message development, strategic planning, and media training services. She has particular strengths in written communications and also regularly interacts with primarily print media contacts.
Ms. Goode most recently served for four years as a Director at Quinn Gillespie & Associates where she represented clients on Capitol Hill, the Administration and White House on issues ranging from bilateral economic agreements, compensation of terrorist victims and H1-B immigration. Ms. Goode also provided counsel to international clients in their dealings with the International Community on efforts including NATO accession, EU accession and United Nations-mediated resolution of domestic and bilateral issues.
Ms. Goode began her career as a Research Assistant to Chairwoman and Founder of Robinson Lerer & Montgomery, the nationally-recognized crisis communications firm in New York.
Ms. Goode earned her Master's in International Public Policy from Georgetown University and Bachelors in History from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She hails from Houston, TX and is fluent in French.
Michael Messmer, Vice President
Michael Messmer brings over a decade of foreign and defense policy experience, having served as a member of the leadership staff to House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt for six years. From 1996-2002, Messmer monitored and advised Gephardt and his senior team on legislation and policy ranging from international human rights, missile defense, NATO expansion, counterterrorism, and defense modernization, among others.
Messmer provided analysis of congressional oversight of post-September 11th homeland security and intelligence policies, including for example the House Democratic Task Force on Homeland Security led by then-Congressman Bob Menendez (D-NJ). He advised Gephardt on individuals under consideration for nomination to various commissions (e.g., United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad), and travelled as part of many congressional and staff delegations to the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Messmer has been with Gephardt Group Government Affairs since its inception. He provides clients with legislative strategy, policy analysis and direct advocacy on Capitol Hill.
Messmer also provides the firm's philanthropic clients with long-term planning surrounding global health initiatives. During his years on Capitol Hill, he monitored federal coordination of policy and funding to combat global pandemics for Gephardt, widely recognized for his personal interest in human rights and recognition of the fight against HIV/AIDS as the "moral imperative of our time."
From 2004 to 2006, he served at the Council on Foreign Relations as Assistant Director of the Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy Program. While at the Council, he oversaw the development and implementation of a number of nonpartisan initiatives designed to create a higher degree of collaboration between members of the foreign policy and congressional communities, including member and staff briefings, delegation preparations and outreach to both freshmen members and congressional chiefs of staff.
Messmer earned his Master's degree in Regional and Urban Planning Studies from the London School of Economics. Messmer hails from St. Louis, MO and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Catholic University in Washington, DC.
Sunny Saini, Associate
Sunny Saini joined Gephardt Group as a research analyst in September of 2007. Sunny moved to the Atlanta office after acquiring his Bachelors degree in International Studies Economics from the University of California, San Diego. At UCSD he was actively involved in the Undergraduate Economic Society and as captain led the school's Ultimate Frisbee team to a national tournament appearance.
During the summers Sunny worked as a sales representative for BJS Electronics, a multimillion dollar distributor of computer components based in Milpitas, California.
Sunny has obtained his Private Pilot license for the operation of single engine aircrafts.