Public Affairs &
Strategic Communications

Campbell Kaufman serves as Cornerstone’s President and has been with the firm since its founding in 2002. Starting with just a handful of clients and a few colleagues in one office, he has helped to grow the firm to its current market position with more than 170 employees and hundreds of clients across 15 offices nationwide.

He brings 30 years of public affairs experience to Cornerstone and directly manages the company’s state government relations and public affairs business units.

Prior to Cornerstone, Camp worked at two other Washington D.C. consulting firms, as well as on Capitol Hill, serving as Communications Director and a Senior Policy Advisor for two former Louisiana members of Congress. He has been involved in various campaigns for Republican candidates at the local, state, and national levels, particularly in Louisiana.

Camp has served on various boards including LSU’s Manship School of Journalism, LSU’s National Foundation, the First Tee of Washington, D.C., and the Leadership Giving Program at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School. He holds a Bachelors (BA) in journalism from the Manship School (Geaux Tigers!), and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Fiction Writing from the University of the South (Sewanee).

Suzanne Battista serves as Chief Operating Officer at Cornerstone Government Affairs. In this role, Suzanne helps to oversee and manage all operations of the firm as part of the senior leadership team. Her main focus is on streamlining operations processes to increase employee productivity while building a highly inclusive culture to ensure team members thrive.

Within her role with Cornerstone, Suzanne also assists a number of the firm’s Political Action Committee and association clients with the management of their financial and administrative matters. She provides administrative support in the corporate formation of these entities, continues to manage their financial records, and oversees clerical matters relative to each entities’ daily functions.

Suzanne joined Cornerstone in July 2009 as the firm’s Office Coordinator and in January 2012, Suzanne took on the role of Director of Finance, where she focused solely on assisting with the firm’s financial management. In February of 2014, Suzanne transitioned from Director of Finance to Vice President for Finance and Administration and most recently transitioned from Chief Financial Officer to Chief Operating Officer in March of 2023.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, Suzanne interned for one of the DC area’s top interior design firms, Kristin Peake Interiors, where she worked beside Head Designer, Kristin Peake, and assisted in managing daily tasks at the Rockville office.

Suzanne, a native Washingtonian, received her bachelor’s degree in speech communication from the University of Georgia. She currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and two children.

Bridget Maloy serves as Senior Operations Manager for our Public Affairs team, supporting the team on business development and marketing efforts, operations, logistics and client services, based out Cornerstone’s Washington, D.C. office.

Prior to joining Cornerstone in 2022, she served as a Financial Systems Analyst in the Office of the Secretary of the Senate. In this role, she wrote and disseminated mass communications that were distributed to the wider Senate community, apprising staff of all financial system updates and keeping offices abreast of new features and instructional materials to ultimately improve the day-to-day operations. She also fostered and managed relationships with Senate offices and provided client services to the Senate community daily.

Prior to her time at the U.S. Senate, Bridget was an Administrative Coordinator and account lead at Prime Label Consultants, where she managed communications between high-value clients and consultants. She also served in a business development role at their annual conference, featuring hundreds of clients along with officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Bridget holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Katelyn Anderson joined Cornerstone in September 2018 to support the firm’s public affairs team. As a Senior Associate based in the Des Moines, Iowa office, she leads digital strategy and media monitoring efforts and helps develop creative, thoughtful content on behalf of clients, in addition to assisting with the development of clients’ communications strategies.

Katelyn leads and supports a variety of clients, including universities, public school districts, associations and nonprofit organizations. Before joining the firm, she served as a George Washington Carver Social Media Intern at the World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa.

Katelyn graduated from Drake University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication, majoring in strategic political communication and minoring in marketing.

Ashley Cain joined Cornerstone in February 2025 following her time at the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association (LMOGA) where she served as the Director of Public and Government Affairs. Ashley, a dedicated public and government affairs professional with over 14 years of experience, has a proven track record of delivering successful public relations campaigns and ability to navigate the complexities of the regulatory environment to influence public policy.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, Ashley served in various roles at LMOGA. In her most recent role, Ashley oversaw the development and execution of the government and public affairs strategies to represent and promote the oil and natural gas industry at the federal, state and local levels. She was responsible for engaging with the state legislature, local officials, the media and the public to advocate for industry interests, building and maintaining these relationships to ensure a positive industry reputation and an optimal operating environment.

Previously, Ashley served as the Public Affairs Manager at LMOGA, where she focused on the overall public affairs strategy for the Association. She developed and implemented communications strategies and strategic messaging on behalf of the energy industry in Louisiana. In this role, Ashley drafted press releases, speeches and other written materials for distribution to media outlets and stakeholders and supported crisis communications through timely and accurate information sharing with the public and media.

Earlier in her career at LMOGA, she served as the Communications Manager, coordinating all internal and external communications for the Association, and the Executive Assistant, providing support to the entire staff.

Ashley earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration, communications and sociology from Louisiana State University.

Richard Carbo joined the Cornerstone Public Affairs team in July of 2023, bringing over 15 years of public policy, government and strategic communications experience.

He joins the firm following his time at S-3 Public Affairs where he held the role of vice president. In this role, he developed public affairs campaigns on issues that impact every level of government on issues, including in healthcare, energy and technology. In addition, he provided strategic communications support to clients as they navigated government agencies and planned and executed public media events.

Prior to S-3, Richard worked for Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards as deputy chief of staff and communications director.  In this role, Richard spearheaded the governor’s communications efforts surrounding the governor’s legislative agenda, coordinated media engagement and led the crisis communications efforts in response to multiple natural disasters. He also served as campaign manager for the governor’s successful 2019 re-election, the first Democratic governor to win re-election in Louisiana in more than 40 years.  During his time on Capitol Hill, Richard worked as press secretary for U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and communications director for U.S. Rep. John Barrow (D-GA).

Richard holds a bachelor’s in communications from Louisiana State University.

Jimmy Centers started his career as a political communicator working for and advising campaigns at many levels, including presidential, U.S. Senate, Congressional, gubernatorial, as well as state and local candidates. In 2017, Jimmy co-founded Cornerstone’s Public Affairs practice out of the Des Moines, Iowa, office where he leads strategic communications planning and counsel for Fortune-ranked corporations and nonprofits alike.

Prior to entering the private sector, Jimmy served as Communications Director for former U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Terry Branstad and current Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds when they served as Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively. During his time in the Iowa Governor’s and Lieutenant Governor’s office, Jimmy led messaging efforts on their legislative priorities, which ranged from Medicaid modernization to agriculture and renewable fuels to education and economic development. He served as the Administration’s on-the-record spokesman, wrote speeches for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, organized hundreds of events and press conferences and led crisis communications and rapid response operations for the executive branch and governor’s office.

Jimmy is a Peoria, Illinois native and currently resides in Des Moines, Iowa.

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.

Liz joined Cornerstone Public Affairs in March 2020 after more than five years at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), where she served as deputy communications director. At HRC, Liz focused on communications management, relationship development and execution of major media rollouts for the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.

Before joining HRC, Liz worked at NPR for more than six years, helping lead the international media company into the digital age as the outlet’s first online Washington national correspondent. At NPR, Liz covered the administration, politics and national issues as part of the online team that won four consecutive Edward R. Murrow Awards. Before her time at NPR, Liz was a senior writer at U.S. News & World Report, producing stories on politics, media and the U.S. Supreme Court that set the pace for subsequent news coverage in Washington and beyond.  

Liz previously worked at the Hartford (Conn.) Courant, as a city, politics and general assignment reporter, and later as a senior reporter in the outlet’s Washington Bureau. In Hartford, she was a member of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for coverage of a mass shooting at the state’s lottery headquarters. In Washington, Liz reported on politics and national issues, and created the outlet’s first national media column in which she chronicled the rapid changes in the industry. 

 Liz earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications from Illinois State University.

Charlie Hannema joined Cornerstone in June 2022, bringing 15 years of media and strategic communications experience to the Public Affairs and Strategic Communications team and expanding the firm’s presence in Oklahoma.

A seasoned communications strategist, Charlie’s expertise spans crisis communications, media relations, corporate messaging and community engagement. At Cornerstone, he works with clients across the country on economic development, education, energy, agriculture and financial policy issues. In the energy sector, he specializes in conducting community assessments during early project development—evaluating local sentiment and building connections with community leaders and elected officials—and providing long-term support to energy companies by tailoring messaging to resonate with wide-ranging stakeholders. Before joining Cornerstone, Charlie served more than two years as Chief of Communications for Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. He was the governor’s primary spokesperson and messaging strategist throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, managed state agency communications teams, and wrote the 2021 and 2022 State of the State addresses. His tenure also saw the expansion of the governor’s communications team and a significant boost in digital outreach and content creation.

Earlier in his career, Charlie directed public relations for Broken Arrow Public Schools and spent a decade as a news and sports anchor, including five years at KOTV in Tulsa. In addition to his public affairs work, Charlie leverages his journalism background to provide media training for corporate executives and subject matter experts to prepare them for high-profile interviews with outlets including TIME, Fox News, CNN and The Washington Post. He also manages media strategy and crisis communications for events such as Tulsa’s Folds of Honor FreedomFest and Smoke & Guns charity MMA fight night to maximize awareness and visibility for clients who are involved as corporate philanthropic sponsors. Most recently, Charlie led the campaign to secure a capital improvements sales tax extension in Lawton, Okla., that generates $34 million annually for critical local projects. A proud Missouri School of Journalism graduate, Charlie lives in Edmond, Okla.

D’Andre Henderson brings a wealth of experience to the Cornerstone team after working on Capitol Hill for several prominent members of Congress as they navigated significant political challenges in their states and districts. In his role as a Senior Associate on the Public Affairs team, he leverages his extensive strategic communications experience to cultivate relationships with both media and clients.

D’Andre previously served as Communications Director to Rep. Don Davis (D-NC). In this capacity, he was the Congressman’s national and local spokesperson and managed a three-member team overseeing a range of communications tasks including speeches, press releases, paid and earned media, email campaigns, op-eds, social media, media events, amongst others.

Prior to that, D’Andre was Digital Director for Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA). He oversaw the digital communication portfolio for the senator through social media, multimedia content creation, email outreach and website maintenance. D’Andre was also the Digital Manager for the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Education and the Workforce for then Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), where he designed graphics and branding for online messaging, drafted weekly newsletters, media advisories and other written content for the Committee.

D’Andre holds a master’s degree in public communications from Syracuse University, and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Old Dominion University.

Lauren brings more than a decade of strategic philanthropy and communications experience to her role as a Principal on our Public Affairs team in our Atlanta, GA office. Lauren leads Cornerstone’s strategic philanthropy service offering, providing strategic counsel for nonprofits, foundations and corporate social responsibility teams.

Lauren works with major corporations and foundations to help align their philanthropic giving and community engagement initiatives within a cohesive communications and policy framework. Her work is aimed at leveraging existing or expanded philanthropic initiatives to move the needle on key policy goals and proactive reputation needs.

Lauren also advises leading nonprofits on how to maximize their policy and communications initiatives to elevate themselves within their industry, and capture donor attention. As a former development consultant, she is experienced in navigating the nuanced communications needs of various donor sectors while multiplying the impact of policy and PR efforts.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, Lauren served as a nonprofit communications and development consultant for agencies based in Washington, DC and New York City, managing strategies for a wide range of nonprofit and advocacy clients. She has deep experience developing compelling campaigns and nuanced crisis communications.

Lauren started her career teaching writing, public speaking and political theory as a graduate student and research fellow at the University of Maryland (UMD). In addition to her fellowship with UMD, Lauren was an Arthur J. Quinn Memorial Fellow at the University of California – Berkeley and an Elmer L. Andersen Research Scholar at the University of Minnesota. Throughout her career, Lauren has written for notable outlets such as The Huffington Post, Medium, The Conversation and more.

Lauren received her BA in communications and her BS in Spanish from Georgia Southern University, in addition to her master’s and doctoral candidacy in rhetoric & political communication from UMD.

Yunjeong joined Cornerstone as an associate in December 2021 and currently serves as senior associate on the Public Affairs team. In this role, she assumes leadership responsibilities for a diverse portfolio of clients spanning corporate, technology, healthcare and nonprofit sectors, providing strategic counsel and recommendations, cultivating relationships with both media and clients and preparing materials from communications plans to memos, to op-eds.

Her notable achievements include successfully pitching and securing interviews for her clients with outlets including the Wall Street Journal, POLITICO, Fast Company and many more.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, Yunjeong honed her expertise in the communications industry through her work as a public relations and web assistant for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Human Ecology, where her responsibilities included crafting weekly blog posts, developing social media content, creating e-newsletters and contributing to media monitoring efforts. Simultaneously, she held the position of an editor at Bell Magazine, where she wrote and edited op-eds and dispatches on contemporary social and political events.

Yunjeong holds a bachelor’s degree in communication arts with a minor in entrepreneurship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently based in Washington, D.C.

Max Moll joined the Cornerstone Public Affairs team April of 2023, bringing a public affairs and strategic communications presence to Cornerstone’s Texas offices. In his previous role as chief engagement officer at the Houston Independent School District, he oversaw government relations, communications, family and community engagement and board relations for the nation’s eighth largest school district. He also oversaw the district’s legislative affairs work and external lobby team, ensuring alignment and execution of district’s legislative priorities. In addition, he represented the district with external stakeholders, in traditional and digital media appearances, and on panels and other various speaking opportunities. He was also the lead spokesperson for the district and main point of contact for elected officials, advocacy groups and private industry.

Prior to working at HISD, Max served as the chief communications officer & deputy director for the Office of the Houston City Controller, Chris B. Brown. He spearheaded all communications initiatives for the Office of the City Controller, working across the City of Houston’s 22 departments to help unify external and internal communications. Max served as liaison between Controller’s Office and the city’s investors, developing key external messaging relating to investment strategy, portfolio performance, and maintaining key relationships with city’s investor base. In addition, and in partnership with the Controller’s Office Treasury Division, Max helped oversee the city’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments, helping grow the portfolio to over $950 million.

Max also served as the chief of staff to the CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where he oversaw the development and execution of the Chamber’s public affairs and community outreach efforts, legislative advocacy campaigns and external affairs projects. Also, he served as the main point of contact for media, securing comprehensive coverage and managing all media relationships on behalf of the Chamber and its members.

He holds a master’s in business administration from Boston University, master’s in political management from George Washington University, and a bachelor’s in mass communication from LSU.

Hyma Moore joined the Cornerstone Public Affairs team in November 2023, bringing over a decade of public policy, government and strategic communications experience.

Previously he served as director for the office of Jaime Harrison, the chairman of Democratic National Committee (DNC). In this role, he served as a liaison between the Chairman and all DNC departments, stakeholders, elected officials and campaigns. Hyma also developed and executed the Chairman’s political engagement strategy across the country and served as the Chairman’s point of contact to members of Congress and federal agencies.

Before that, Hyma worked as the battleground states press secretary for the DNC where he managed the organization’s communications staffers in Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and Florida. In addition, he designed political and communications plans to promote and amplify messages for the DNC and the Biden-Harris Administration and managed relationships with key local and national media contacts.

Hyma also worked as the vice president for external affairs and communication for Greater New Orleans, Inc., which is the City’s chamber of commerce and economic development arm. He managed all communication and government affairs for the organization and CEO. Additionally, he managed key vendor relationships and contracts, and advised executive leadership and all departments on political and communication strategy, which included local elected officials, public and private university presidents and other statewide leadership.

Hyma has also served in communications and public affairs roles for Baton Rouge Chamber, the New Orleans Business Alliance, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the Hillary Clinton Campaign. He is a board member for Split Second Foundation and a former commissioner for the Housing Authority of New Orleans, Workforce Investment Board and Good Work Network.

Hyma earned his degree in economics and French literature at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and obtained a certificate in French language and culture from Université De Liège in Liege, Belgium.

Matt Paul co-founded Cornerstone’s Public Affairs practice in 2017 and has driven the team’s growth of both clients and capability. His public policy, government and strategic communications experience helps clients raise their profiles with key decisionmakers and national audiences as well as develop the overarching strategy to support their efforts.

Matt began his career as a reporter in television and radio in Eastern Iowa. He entered politics at the local level, working for two mayors of his hometown of Cedar Rapids. He then served Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack in several positions over his eight-year tenure, including press secretary, communications director, and senior advisor. Matt also has experience in state and national politics. In 2008, he managed Sen. Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) final re-election campaign. In 2011, Matt joined the Obama Administration as communications director at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). At USDA, he managed a staff of 75, led message coordination efforts around the 2014 Farm Bill and directed media relations involving USDA’s seven mission areas and twenty agencies. Matt served as the Iowa State Director for the 2016 Clinton Presidential Campaign and transitioned to be the chief of staff for Vice Presidential Candidate Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) , where he managed campaign strategy and operations for the candidate.

Matt is known as a trusted advisor to corporate, association and nonprofit clients. Additionally, Matt currently serves on the Advisory Board of Center Forward, the leading convener of bipartisan dialogue in DC.

Mike Reed joined the Cornerstone Public Affairs team in February 2024, bringing over 17 years of public policy, government and strategic communications experience.

Mike joins the firm following his time at the Republican National Committee (RNC), where he held several roles, most recently being chief of staff. Mike oversaw all the operations of the RNC, including managing 10 department directors, a headquarters staff of over 300 and field operations of more than 1,000 employees. Mike led a team that delivered historic victories for the Republican Party, including winning back the House of Representatives in 2022, and countless Senate, House, Governor and down-ballot races across the country. In addition, he served as the point of contact for all 168 members of the RNC as well as major stakeholders in Republican politics.

Mike previously served as the deputy chief of staff for communications. In this role, he directed public affairs campaigns of national significance, including confirmations of Supreme Court justices and White House cabinet officials, along with rapid response teams for national news events. He also worked with major national news reporters to place stories and opposition research.

Prior to joining the RNC, Mike served as the communications director for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. During his time there, he developed and implemented communications strategies for the Office of the Governor and oversaw public relations outreach for multiple state agencies. He served as on-the-record spokesperson for the Governor and organized and executed major public announcements and public events.

Mike holds a bachelor’s in public policy from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Kelsey Schuster joined the Cornerstone Public Affairs team as an Associate in the DC office in August 2024, where she executes public affairs strategies across the aerospace and defense, technology, and corporate sectors.

At Cornerstone, Kelsey leverages her expertise in media relations, social media strategy, crisis communications, and stakeholder engagement to provide impactful solutions for clients. Prior to joining Cornerstone, Kelsey served as an Associate at Powell Tate, the public affairs unit of the Weber Shandwick Collective. In this role, she worked with clients in the defense, financial services, and technology sectors.

Kelsey holds a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication with a minor in sports media and political science from the University of Colorado Boulder’s School of Communication, Media and Information.

Ben Sheidler joined the firm in September 2021 as the first public affairs and strategic communications professional in the Atlanta, Georgia office. He has spent his career helping companies and organizations strengthen their public perception by focusing on the intersection of corporate reputation, public policy, crisis, and issues communications.

While at Cornerstone, Ben has specialized in helping organizations and companies effectively communicate about economic development issues. Leaning on his experience with crisis and reputation management, Ben has helped economic development clients navigate the complexities of community and public relations with a focus on advanced manufacturing, bio, hi-tech, and the emerging electric mobility industry. In his role at Equifax, Ben focused on driving a new company narrative and implementing new communications approaches rooted in measurement and impact. In addition, he was responsible for managing crisis and policy communications, launching the company’s first online newsroom and creating other external communications content in support of the company’s transformation efforts. Before Equifax, Ben worked in various government relations and public affairs positions at The Coca-Cola Company for more than a decade, ultimately serving as the director of external communications, where he helped craft public policy positions and accompanying communications strategies.

He started his career in government affairs at the Georgia Beverage Association and then the American Beverage Association in Washington, D.C. Ben graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia where he majored in political science.

Amir Sports joined the Cornerstone team in June of 2024 based in our Georgia office. In his role as an Associate on the Public Affairs team, he leverages his strategic communications experience to cultivate relationships with both media and clients.

Amir comes following his time at the Georgia Department of Agriculture, where he held three different roles. Most recently, he served as the Director of Rapid Response for their Public Affairs team, where he tracked media coverage related to Commissioner Tyler Harper and other affiliated departments. He also conducted research, analyzed and tracked state and federal legislation to support internal decision-making and external communication efforts. Additionally, Amir maintained a centralized database for organizing media coverage, analyzing viewership metrics and assessing publicity value.

In his prior role as a Public Affairs Coordinator, Amir was responsible for coordinating internal and external communications, including drafting newsletters and press releases and monitoring media and perception, while also serving as a Public Information Officer for crisis communication outreach. Finally, Amir also served as a Media Relations Specialist, where he managed, tracked, analyzed, and created social media content to increase followers, engagement, and exposure on all platforms.

Before joining the Department of Agriculture, Amir served as a Government Relations Associate for Joseph A. Sports & Associates, where he assisted in developing and implementing government relations strategies for clients in various industries. Amir also provided content for Georgia’s oldest political newsletter, Georgia Beat.

Amir holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and public relations from the University of West Georgia.

TJ Tatum brings nearly 15 years of experience in communications, public affairs, government, and politics. TJ provides strategic counsel on stakeholder engagement, trade and regulatory issues, government investigations, crisis management and long-term corporate positioning programs.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, TJ served as a principal at Sard Verbinnen & Co, a global strategic communications consultancy, where he advised clients on all aspects of financial communications in connection with bankruptcies, high-profile mergers and acquisitions and other special situations. Before his time in the private sector, he served in House Republican leadership as deputy director of communications for then-Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), where he developed and executed messaging and communications strategy for the Whip and the broader House Republican leadership team. During his time on the Hill, TJ also served as communications director of the Republican Study Committee and in policy and communications roles for members of the Florida and Texas congressional delegations. TJ also has deep political experience having worked on numerous congressional, gubernatorial and state house campaigns.

A native Floridian, TJ earned his bachelor’s degree from Boston College and currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Lauren Tomlinson joined Cornerstone in August 2024, expanding the firm’s public affairs practice and bringing over 15 years of experience working at the highest levels of government and corporate America.

Most recently, Lauren provided strategic communications counsel for Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, non-profits and advocacy organizations, with an expertise in crisis, policy, executive, internal, financial, regulatory and stakeholder communications. She came to Cornerstone after co-founding Steer PR, a national security-focused public affairs firm, and running her own company, Claffey Communications.

Before founding Claffey Communications, Lauren served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, where she was responsible for managing the Department of Homeland Security’s strategic communications. In that role, Tomlinson led interagency communications initiatives, coordinating with the White House, the National Security Council and agency policy communications across the government, including those with jurisdiction on aviation security, cybersecurity, counterterrorism and disaster response. She served and worked directly with three department secretaries and the administration’s senior policy, national security and legal teams, communicating on international and domestic policy issues to key national and foreign media. Lauren also led internal and external communication strategies to address major homeland security issues. In addition to overseeing the DHS’s employee, stakeholder and digital communications, Lauren prepared the secretaries for international ministerial visits, congressional testimonies, media interview and speeches.

Other roles she has held in the past include Director, Corporate Communications for Southern Company, Senior Director for Rational 360, and Communications Director for the U.S. Senate, Senate Intelligence Committee. Also, Lauren was an on-camera commentator for CNN, BBC, MSNBC, CBS and Fox News.

Lauren received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Georgia and her master’s in corporate communications and public relations from Georgetown University.

Kirsten brings valuable experience to the Cornerstone team after serving for a decade on Capitol Hill and working for high-profile members of Congress with politically challenging states and districts. As a principal on the Public Affairs team, she utilizes her extensive strategic communications experience to help our clients achieve their goals.

Kirsten was previously deputy chief of staff to Rep. Underwood (D-IL). During her time there, she was the congresswoman’s national spokesperson, and oversaw communications including creation of press releases, speeches, media events, interviews, social media, email campaigns, mailers and paid advertisements. She created a multi-faceted and aggressive communications operation for Rep. Underwood as a new member of Congress, and carried a tailored brand through digital, earned, and paid media to establish one of the largest followings of the freshman class of the 116^th Congress.

Prior to her time with Rep. Underwood, Kirsten was the communications director for Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN). In this role, Kirsten managed a four-member press team where she built strong, targeted media relationships and wrote press releases, op-eds, memos, debate preparation books, and talking points. She provided political counsel for the senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee through two controversial Supreme Court nominations.

She has pitched, booked, and prepared members of Congress for major interviews with outlets including Meet the Press, The Daily Show, New York Times, Fox News Sunday, CBS This Morning, Harper’s Baazar, The Washington Post and many more.

Kirsten is a native of West Des Moines, Iowa and currently resides in Washington, DC.