Salim Alameddin is a Senior Vice President at Crossroads Strategies. Salim represents clients across numerous industries before legislative and executive branch officials and staff, focusing on foreign trade, energy and environment, federal lands, and tribal matters.

In addition, Salim provides strategic guidance and tailor-made issue monitoring resources to clients in a wide array of legislative and regulatory fields, applying a deep network among congressional staff to hone in on clients’ specific concerns and priorities.

Prior to joining Crossroads Strategies, Salim worked in both Chambers of Congress for then-Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn and Representative Will Hurd, where he assisted on issues including but not limited to tax policy, health care, and international trade.

A Texas native, Salim also assists clients in engaging his home state delegation and the broader Gulf Coast. He is active in campaigns for federal office in the region and has worked extensively at the intersection of clients’ state and federal government affairs.

Salim grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, and graduated from the University of Alabama with a B.A. in Political Science and History.

A Partner at Forbes Tate Partners, Ed is a recognized expert in financial services policy and advocacy. With over 30 years of experience in the field, he advises and works with clients that have policy issues before Congress and financial regulators.

Most recently, Ed served as Senior Vice President and Head of Government Affairs for the Bank Policy Institute. In that role, he helped to lead BPI’s federal advocacy efforts on member company priorities, including those in the areas of capital and liquidity, consumer banking, technology, and national security.

Prior to joining BPI, Mr. Hill spent nearly two decades with Bank of America representing the bank before federal policy makers on issues including capital markets reforms, investment research, and retail banking. He also worked for the National Governors Association, the Financial Services Roundtable, and Ernst & Young, LLP in their Bank Regulatory and Risk Management Practice.

Mr. Hill holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Emory University, a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a Master of Science in Finance from George Washington University.

Curtis Philp joined the Alpine Group after serving as deputy chief of staff to former Congressman Lamar Smith (TX-21) and as a staff member with the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

During his tenure on Capitol Hill, Curtis was the primary staff member responsible for policy and communications in Congressman Smith’s personal office. In this capacity, Curtis oversaw all legislative and press operations, which focused heavily on House Judiciary Committee issues – including intellectual property, privacy, telecommunications, technology, and immigration. He also provided counsel to the House Science Committee on intellectual property matters.

Prior to joining Congressman Smith’s office, Curtis worked for Representatives Louie Gohmert (TX-01) and Bill Cassidy (LA-06) handling a similar portfolio of issues. Curtis started his Congressional career in the office of Senator Charles Grassley (IA).

Curtis earned a B.B.A. in Management and Marketing from the University of Iowa and a J.D. from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, Erin, and their daughter.

A Managing Partner at Forbes Tate Partners, Mr. Strunk spent eight years on Capitol Hill, including six years with House Republican Leadership – most recently serving as Deputy Floor Director to former Speaker of the House John Boehner.

Jeff regularly works with Fortune 500 companies, trade organizations, and coalitions. He represents client interests on a range of issues, and brings particular expertise in regards to financial products and services, banking, energy, and telecommunications issues. He also operates at the nexus between these policy areas and tax and cybersecurity issues.

Prior to serving as Deputy Floor Director to former Speaker of the House John Boehner, Mr. Strunk spent three years as Floor Assistant. Prior to his time with Boehner, Mr. Strunk worked for former Congressman Patrick J. Tiberi, a previous Chairman of the influential Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

During his time in House Leadership, Mr. Strunk formed incredibly strong relationships with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle – and, also, their staffers. He developed expertise in parliamentary procedure, House Rules, and a thorough understanding of the inner workings of House Leadership and Congress.

Mr. Strunk’s roots connect him to a wide variety of House Committees. He frequently works with members of the House Ways and Means, Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. Jeff also maintains deep ties to both the House Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees.

Jeff has long been active in the Republican Party – both in Ohio and at the national level. He has worked on the campaign of Patrick J. Tiberi, as well as volunteered on numerous other Congressional campaigns.

Strunk’s background also includes his ongoing role with an organized volunteer campaign effort in his home state of Ohio. For more than six years, he has led an independent GOTV program in the Buckeye State that helps to provide grassroots support to Republican candidates at the local, state, and federal levels.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Strunk is a graduate of Xavier University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

He and his wife and three children live in Washington, DC.

Todd has spent the better part of his career in the public policy arena as an advocate for multiple corporations and trade associations within the financial services public policy arena.

Todd is well known in Washington advocacy circles as a determined and dedicated representative of his clients’ interests, and a skilled legislative tactician.

With a wide set of bipartisan relationships in the House and Senate and unique insights into the inner workings of policy creation, Todd represents the outcome-based advocacy that defines the Crossroads team.

Beginning his career in the United States Senate as an aide to former Senators Rick Santorum and Tim Hutchinson, Todd is widely recognized as one of the most effective policy advocates in the Washington community. Prior to joining Crossroads, Todd served in the public law practices of SNR Denton and Arent Fox.

Todd is a 1994 graduate of Hobart and William Smith College.

John is Chairman and Co-founder of Crossroads Strategies, LLC, a multidisciplinary federal government relations firm based in Washington, DC. During his 21 years in the advocacy community, John has successfully achieved policy changes in virtually every field of federal advocacy, notably in technology policy and resources issues. Prior to his work at Crossroads, John co-founded Federalist Group, LLC. Federalist Group was acquired by Ogilvy Public Relations and grew to be one of the top five government relations firms in Washington.

John has been involved in public policy and politics at the federal level for two decades. He began his career working in the United States Senate, where he handled policy and administrative matters for the Assistant Majority Leader and eventual Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate. Additionally, he has served as a campaign manager for a successful congressional campaign, national finance chairman for multiple U.S. Senate campaigns, and a senior advisor to a presidential campaign.

John holds a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies from the University of Mississippi.

Lucy Panza is an Executive Vice President at Crossroads Strategies, LLC. Lucy primarily advocates for clients in the judiciary, tech, appropriations, and immigration policy areas, providing strategic counsel to clients as well as direct advocacy before Congress.

Before joining Crossroads, Lucy spent three years at Amazon on the political affairs team. There, Lucy focused on outreach to Senate Democrats and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on a wide range of issues, including competition and antitrust, workplace health and safety, tax, immigration, telecommunications, postal and delivery logistics, sustainability and environmental corporate responsibility, diversity in media and film, customer privacy issues, and more. Lucy was also proud to help lead Amazon’s Political Action Committee and political giving strategy.

Lucy began her career in the United States Senate, first with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and then with Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer. She first joined Leader Schumer’s team as Counsel when he was serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she focused on immigration, domestic violence, and terrorism victim issues, and then in the leadership office, where she led on these issues on behalf of the Leader and the entire caucus. During her time in the Leader’s office, Lucy was proud to play a critical role in passing dozens of pieces of legislation, ranging from government funding bills to new immigrant green card provisions, to the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization, to a bevy of new laws compensating victims of terror. Lucy also helped to shepherd the caucus through two government shutdowns.

Lucy holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from New York University. She is a proud immigrant from Argentina and resides in Maryland with her family.

Keenan, a Principal of Alpine Group and Capitol Hill veteran, has spent the past decade guiding and advising principals in all levels of government. In her role as Chief of Staff, she served as the Congressman's top policy advisor and an advisor to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where she crafted strategies to elevate the Congressman’s work as a national leader on climate change, environmental justice and rural broadband. She also led McEachin’s work as the Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus, building consensus around the Caucus’ priorities and advancing its agenda with House leadership.

In 2018, Keenan co-founded the Black Women’s Congressional Alliance (BWCA), a membership organization of more than 300 bipartisan and bicameral Black women Hill staffers. She has led dozens of professional development briefings, events and webinars to inform staffers about new career opportunities, provided a platform to elevate their profiles to the broader Capitol Hill community, and pushed growth in diverse hiring in the United States House and Senate. BWCA has been featured in the Majority Leaders Podcast, The Brown Girl’s Guide to Politics Podcast, VICE, Essence Magazine, and Washingtonian.

During the 2016 presidential election, Keenan served as Hillary for America’s Statewide Political Director in Florida, the largest political battleground state in the country. In that role, she was responsible for all federal, state, and local elected relationships within the state on behalf of the campaign and also managed the organization’s largest political staff. Previously, Keenan served as Chief of Staff to Councilmember David Grosso of the Council of the District of Columbia City. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (FL-24), managing a portfolio including political outreach, stakeholder engagement, constituent services, and legislation. In 2010, she managed Congresswoman Wilson’s first election to Congress.

A proud Rattler, Keenan received her bachelor’s degree and MBA from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Jon is a Partner at KP. He started his lobbying career with the San Francisco law firm of Landels, Ripley and Diamond, which he left in 1996 to help start the predecessor firm to KP, the Kahl Pownall Companies. Jon leads KP’s advocacy efforts for financial services clients, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and the California Mortgage Bankers Association, among others. He also leads KP’s technology practice and has become a key voice on virtually all issues impacting Silicon Valley. Jon was the first outside lobbyist retained by Google (in 2006) and subsequently has been retained by other technology leaders, including Cisco, Airbnb, and Lyft. Jon also represents five large, national accounting firms (PWC, KPMG, EY, Deloitte and Grant Thornton). Jon’s other clients include NBC Universal, the California Restaurant Association and the Hertz Corporation.

Rhod Shaw brings over 35 years of high-level government experience to his colleagues and clients at the Alpine Group. Mr. Shaw has successfully represented a diverse group of Fortune 500 companies, major international trade associations, state and local governments, and other industry leaders on matters pending before the legislative and executive branches of government. He provides clients critical strategic policy advice, business insights, and has created and implemented comprehensive legislative and grassroots action plans for effecting successful change in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

His keen understanding of both policy and politics has earned Mr. Shaw the distinction of being known as one of Washington’s elite consultants. Recognized throughout his career as an elite consultant who blends political insights and profound relationships with substantive policy knowledge, he is unique in that his reach and relationships span across the Senate and House and across the partisan political spectrum.

Mr. Shaw’s extensive policy experience includes specialized work affecting key industries such as telecommunications, energy, automotive, technology, financial services, and those requiring the protection of intellectual property rights, as well as other leading industries.

Mr. Shaw has also helped expand the Alpine Group’s expertise and reach through his work serving in leadership positions with groups such as FIPRA International, which leverages the expertise of firms in the capitals of the 50 largest economic markets of the world. This global network ensures that clients and policy makers have access to the best information, representation, and perspective from North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America. He also serves as an advisor to several start-up businesses across the technology, energy, and sports/entertainment realm.

A Principal & Director of Crossroads Strategies, Senator Breaux led a long and distinguished career in the US Congress. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1972 at the age of 28 – at the time of his election, he was the youngest member of Congress. He represented the 7th District of Louisiana for 14 years before being elected to the United States Senate in 1986. Senator Breaux was a widely recognized bipartisan leader in the Senate, and in 1993, was appointed by his Democratic colleagues to the post of Chief Deputy Whip, a position he held until his retirement. He also held a number of key Senate committee positions.

A senior member of the Finance Committee, Senator Breaux served as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy. He also held positions on two other Finance subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Health Care and the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight. Senator Breaux also served on the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, where he was a leader on telecommunications and transportation issues, along with his work on fisheries and ocean policy.

Commissioner Bush serves as the CEO and Managing Partner of Pine Cove Strategies, drawing upon more than 30 years of executive experience in both government and business. Throughout his career, he has led high-profile initiatives, shaped strategic decision-making, and delivered impactful results for public and private sector clients alike.

Prior to co-founding the firm, Commissioner Bush served as the 28th Land Commissioner for the State of Texas where he led the largest housing recovery in State history in response to Hurricane Harvey, helping more than 60,000 victims rebuild their homes and their lives. As Chairman of the $8.6 billion Permanent School Fund, he helped to generate record revenues for K-12 education through innovative administration and implemented prudent stewardship measures over 13 million acres of state lands and natural resources.

Prior to his election to statewide office, Commissioner Bush co-founded Pennybacker Capital, a Texas-based private equity fund, and he practiced corporate & securities law with a national law firm in Dallas. He also proudly served for a decade as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves, where he earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal and Intel Warfare Designator pin in recognition of his service.

Jason Gleason is an Executive Vice President at Crossroads Strategies with expertise in many areas such as energy, environment, and the tech sector. He thrives in solving complex problems that require difficult political and policy decisions. Jason has helped clients develop and implement advocacy strategies to secure federal funding from numerous agencies, advance legislation on challenging issues, and build longstanding relationships with key decision-makers. He helps lead Crossroads’ engagement with the House Democratic Caucus.

Jason joined Crossroads Strategies in 2018 after nearly two decades of service in the House and Senate. As Chief of Staff for Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD), Jason helped secure the Congressman’s assignment on the prestigious Energy and Commerce Committee. He advised the Congressman throughout the committee’s consideration of the Affordable Care Act, as well as comprehensive climate change and energy legislation. Jason also served on the staff of former Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). During that time, Sarbanes chaired the Senate Banking Committee and authored the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley law. Jason led the Maryland Congressional Delegation’s successful 2005 BRAC campaign, bringing tens of thousands of high-tech and intelligence jobs to the state.

Jason graduated from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA with a B.A. in History.

A Managing Partner at Forbes Tate Partners, she leads the firm’s energy practice. She is a highly respected energy and environmental expert with 16 years of corporate, regulatory, and congressional experience,

Rachel joined the firm as a Senior Vice President in 2012 – providing clients with unique government relations strategies, coalition management, third party outreach and deep ties within Executive Branch agencies and throughout Capitol Hill.

In today’s budget-focused times, Ms. Miller’s deep knowledge of the federal appropriations and budget processes has proven to be an invaluable asset. She has helped countless clients secure large Department of Energy grants – which, in turn, enable their projects to move forward.

Prior to joining Forbes Tate Partners, Ms. Miller served as Vice President of Energy and Environment Practice at Capitol Solutions. Before that, she worked on mandatory climate change legislation and policies to support low-carbon power, as Director of Federal Affairs for BP America. There, she co-founded the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Contact Group and managed BP’s legislative agenda within the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP).

Ms. Miller served for nearly four years as Legislative Assistant to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the former Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, as a policy advisor on energy, transportation, and agriculture issues.

While on Senator Feinstein’s staff, Rachel drafted legislation that laid the groundwork for the first statutory increase in fuel economy standards adopted since 1975. She also played a key role in drafting energy market transparency legislation that was eventually incorporated as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.

Ms. Miller also served in the House of Representatives as a Legislative Assistant for former Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY). She focused on energy policy, the environment, and education issues.

She was founder and President of the National Board of the Women’s Energy Network (WEN), and is a past President and founder of the DC Chapter of WEN. Born and raised in New York, Ms. Miller received a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a Master’s degree in Political Management from George Washington University.

Jessyca Sheehan has extensive experience partnering with state, national and global organizations on high-profile, strategic communication and public affairs campaigns on energy and climate issues.

As the lead for Lucas Public Affairs’ work in energy and climate, Jessyca brings a depth of experience in corporate communications, strategy and message development, issues management and crisis communications to the firm’s clients spanning water, energy, technology, transportation and more.

Jessyca provides strategic guidance to LPA clients, managing statewide public affairs campaigns and corporate initiatives. She is also a sought-after speaker, leading public speaking and message training seminars for Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit organizations and senior executives. She serves as a valued member of the firm’s executive team and is an experienced mentor for the staff.

Before joining LPA, Jessyca was vice president of a Bay Area-based public affairs agency where she oversaw strategic communications and engagement programs for high-profile statewide initiatives in the energy and utility sector. Previously, she was a director at the Sacramento office of APCO Worldwide where she led the firm’s North America Energy and Clean Tech practice. Earlier, she worked at the California Chamber of Commerce supporting public affairs activities and at a statewide nonprofit organization.

Jessyca has a Bachelor of Arts in English and French from the University of California, Los Angeles. Following her graduation, she taught English at a high school in the southwest of France. Jessyca is an avid runner with countless long-distance runs under her belt, including numerous half-marathons in national parks across the western U.S.

A Partner at Forbes Tate Partners, she is public affairs and communications leader experienced across major corporate, government and nonprofit stakeholders. With a broad understanding of today’s complex policy, communications, and advocacy landscape, Michelle crafts groundbreaking initiatives addressing today’s pressing policy and advocacy challenges.

Michelle has spearheaded major campaigns and programming in health care, education, food, agriculture, defense, tech, and other industries. Her broad health care experience includes leading corporate and public affairs work across health systems, biopharmaceutical companies, government agencies, payers, professional medical associations, and nonprofits. In addition, Michelle developed and led coalitions and campaigns focused on a range of health issues including heart disease, cancer, pharmaceutical safety, vaccinations, addiction, and emerging public health threats.

Previously she worked as Chief of Staff at Ketchum where she developed and led their health equity offering, as well as a mental health communications consultancy. Other public affairs experience includes leading the health practice at Weber Shandwick/Powell Tate, and as a senior leader at Signal Group and Chandler Chicco Agency/Syneos Communications.

An advocate for family caregiving and memory care, Michelle is a board member of the Caregiver’s Action Network (CAN) and is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Arts for the Aging (AFTA).

Mathew Lapinski is CEO of Crossroads Strategies, LLC. Mat represents a broad spectrum of clients across multiple practice areas. With nearly two decades of advocacy experience, he is an expert in navigating Washington’s federal legislative and regulatory institutions.

Beginning as a lobbyist for health care and insurance interests, Mat now covers a broad array of policy disciplines, including financial services, energy, health care, trade, education, and technology.

Called one of Washington’s most persistent lobbyists, Mat has spent his entire career dedicated solely to managing the legislative and regulatory process. He is adept at developing and implementing advocacy campaigns for corporate, association, and non-profit clients. He also provides risk management advisory services to clients seeking to better understand the impact of government action on business.

He has led client representations related to the largest federal interventions of the last 20 years, including the response to the 2008 financial crisis, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and the ongoing response to COVID-19.

Prior to joining Crossroads, Mat was a Principal of the public policy practice at Dentons and part of the lobbying team at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

Mat is a 2002 graduate of Georgetown University.

Jason Van Pelt is an Executive Vice President at Crossroads Strategies, LLC. Jason primarily advocates for clients in the health care industry, providing strategic advice on working with Members of Congress and the Administration.

Jason began his career in Washington serving in various capacities on the staff of former Congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky from 1996 to 2003. Working at Merck (2003-2014) and Novartis (2014-2017), Jason spent over 13 years as an in-house federal advocate. He was responsible for identifying critical legislative opportunities and threats to the company, analyzing their potential impact, ensuring the timely development of appropriate policy positions, and developing and implementing strategies to advocate for and achieve the desired results. He focused primarily on health care, tax, and congressional oversight.

Jason graduated with a B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the College of William & Mary School of Law. He serves on the board of the Congressional Award Foundation, Congress’ official charity.

A Managing Partner at Forbes Tate Partners, he provides invaluable guidance to a variety of Fortune 500s, non-profits, and government entities on legislative strategies before Congress.

Zach has constructed and executed dozens of strategies on behalf of Forbes Tate Partners’ clients on issues, including, but not limited to: tax, finance, housing, healthcare, and technology.

To that end, he has also secured millions of dollars in federal funding for clients – as he represents several universities and municipalities before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations Committees.

A Partner at Cauthen, Forbes & Williams – which later became Forbes Tate Partners – and former Managing Director of Cauthen and Associates in Washington, DC, Zach’s broad experience in Democratic politics began with his work with the Alabama Democratic Party in the 1996 statewide, coordinated campaign.

Mr. Williams has deep roots with the Democratic National Committee. He coordinated logistics for event credentials at both the 2000 and 2004 Democratic National Party Conventions. He also helped to lead grassroots campaign efforts in the Keystone State for Gore-Lieberman 2000 and Lieberman for Senate 2006.

Additionally, Zach served as a top advisor in then-Lt. Governor Lucy Baxley’s 2006 campaign for Governor in Alabama.

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Zach received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Foreign Languages – and also studied business law at the L’Ecole Supérieure du Commerce Extérieur in Paris, France.

Mr. Williams and his wife are natives of Alabama – they have two young children.

Shayne Woods joined the Alpine Group after working on Capitol Hill for almost a decade, most recently serving as Senior Legislative Assistant for Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. An entrepreneur and policy expert, with expertise in both health care and tech, Shayne has a deep understanding of critical legislative issues. In Senator Scott’s office, Shayne’s legislative areas of focus included health care, Social Security, retirement, budget, and commerce, science, and transportation issues. He also led a team that advised Senator Scott on tax, trade, aging, and education issues. Additionally, Shayne prepared public statements, drafted correspondence, and met with constituents and advocacy groups regarding the aforementioned issues.

His close work with both the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee resulted in securing numerous extensions for health care provisions. As the Senate discussed artificial intelligence (AI), Shayne ensured Senator Scott was kept well-apprised of these discussions with his team serving as a knowledgeable resource on the issue. His background in health care and tech has given him a deep appreciation for emerging technologies like AI and gene therapies and the challenging regulatory landscape facing innovators. Prior to joining Senator Scott’s team in 2021, Shayne worked in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years, previously serving as Senior Policy Advisor for Representative Gus Bilirakis of Florida.

Prior to Capitol Hill, Shayne was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FwdHealth [pronounced “forward health”] – a health IT company that connected clients and their health apps to a network of nationally-certified fitness trainers through live, two-way video chat. In addition to FwdHealth, Shayne also founded and ran a health care consulting practice that advised key industry stakeholders on the Affordable Care Act while providing business development assistance.

Shayne holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and resides in Northern Virginia with his wonderful wife and 2 children.

Joe serves as MultiState's CEO. He is involved in all aspects of the firm’s efforts to help clients resolve the challenges they face in the state and local government arena, with a concentration on providing strategic counsel, identifying and deploying political assets, and advancing tax policy objectives.

Prior to joining MultiState in 2011, Joe was with the Council On State Taxation (COST) for more than a decade, ending his tenure there as COO & senior director, policy. Joe has also served as national director of state legislative services for Ernst & Young LLP; vice president with a state legislative tracking firm; and director of a grassroots canvass operation in California.

Joe is a nationally recognized expert on state and local business tax policy. He was identified by State Tax Notes as the “single most influential person in state taxation” and named as the publication’s inaugural Person of the Year. Joe is routinely quoted in trade and national publications on tax policy matters, has regularly testified before state legislatures, the U.S. Congress, and other state and national policy-making bodies, and has given hundreds of presentations to local, regional, and national business groups.

Joe is past president of the State Government Affairs Council, the premier national association for multistate government affairs executives, and he served on the board of the Washington Area State Relations Group. He earned his bachelor's degree in history from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and completed graduate course work in economic policy at American University in Washington.

Brittany J. Hernandez is an Executive Vice President at Crossroads Strategies, LLC. She primarily works with clients in the health care, transportation, and state and local government sectors.

Brittany joined Crossroads Strategies in March 2021. She began her career in the office of Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), where she led policy related to Memphis’s thriving transportation industry in her role as Rep. Cohen’s lead staffer for his assignment on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Brittany was also responsible for Rep. Cohen’s health care portfolio, concentrating on policy aimed at improving the health of Memphians and supporting its complex health care sector.

After more than eight years with Rep. Cohen, Brittany departed Capitol Hill to lead federal affairs on health care access and quality for March of Dimes. She most recently served as the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s head of policy and advocacy, where she was responsible for launching MDA’s government affairs operation and leading its work with Congress and the Administration. As a trusted leader in the health care policy space, Brittany has led numerous multi-stakeholder coalitions focused on issues including access to care and coverage, newborn screening, federal health research funding, and more.

Brittany received a BA in History and Political Science from the University of Memphis.

Chris Miller is an Executive Vice President at Crossroads Strategies, LLC. Chris advocates for clients in a range of industries, including Energy and Environment, Trade and Foreign Relations, Transportation and Homeland Security, and Tribal Governments.

Prior to joining Crossroads Strategies, Chris served as an Executive Vice President at Capitol Strategies and Vice President at Denny Miller Associates, where he represented multiple clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies, Federally Recognized Tribes, State and Local Governments, and non-profits.

Chris began his career working in both the U.S. Senate and in the House of Representatives. Most recently, Chris served as Chief of Staff to former Representative Dave Reichert, a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee. He started with Representative Reichert as Legislative Director, where he was an adviser for energy and trade policy and was the principal staff for the Homeland Security and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. Chris’ first positions on Capitol Hill included serving Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), Representative Jennifer Dunn (R-WA), and Representative Gary Miller (R-CA).

Chris received a Master of Business Administration from the Carson College of Business at Washington State University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing from Oregon State University.

Tori Smith is a Senior Vice President on the Government Relations team.
Tori has spent nearly a decade focusing on international trade, the economic impacts of tariff and non-tariff barriers on American businesses and consumers, and the intersection of trade and broader international economic policy. Her specific areas of expertise include domestic content requirements, de minimis, trade laws that allow the executive branch to impose tariffs, and trade agreements. She also has expertise in digital services taxes, international tax, and domestic tax policy.

Tori has commented on various policy issues on television media such as Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC Power Lunch, and BBC and she has published in media outlets such as The Hill, The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Detroit News.

Prior to joining FTP, Tori served as tax and trade policy advisor for Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a member of the Senate Finance Committee. She was also Director of International Economic Policy at American Action Forum. Tori spent nearly seven years working on trade policy at The Heritage Foundation. Before moving to Washington, D.C., she worked as a legislative aide in the Michigan House of Representatives.

A native Michigander, Tori holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Michigan State University’s James Madison Residential College. She also holds a master’s degree in International Commerce and Policy with a concentration in Global Finance, Investment and Trade from George Mason University. She resides in Virginia with her husband and daughter.

Cornell Teague provides his clients strategic advice and advocacy around the federal budget and appropriations processes, including insight into the convergence between our Nation’s national security and fiscal policy objectives. Teague joined Alpine Group in 2017, after spending seven years as a Professional Staff Member on the House Appropriations Committee, including the last three with the Subcommittee on Defense, where he was the primary staff member responsible for the Committee’s oversight of the Department of Defense’s operations accounts, an annual expenditure exceeding $250 billion across the Services and Defense-Wide agencies.

Before joining the Defense Subcommittee, Teague worked for the House Appropriations Committee, Homeland Security Subcommittee, focusing primarily on cybersecurity and transportation security budgeting and appropriations. He began working on the Committee as an aide to then Full Committee Chairman Hal Rogers of Kentucky. While on Capitol Hill, he also participated in 114th Congress’ John C. Stennis Fellows Program for Public Service, a bipartisan, bicameral leadership program for senior staff in the U.S. Congress.

The method for funding federal programs through discretionary spending can seem convoluted to the casual observer and Teague is a frequent guest lecturer at universities, and in front of businesses, organizations, civil servants and clients.

Teague has also worked in The White House, serving President George W. Bush at the Homeland Security Council and USA Freedom Corps. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and received his Master of Business Administration at George Mason University. He lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.