Services
Four ways we make the case.
Everything we do comes back to one job: getting the right people to understand a California priority, and to act on it.
Federal Advocacy
Washington rewards persistence and punishes vagueness. It also runs on relationships, and the best of those are built on trust, integrity and credibility earned over time. We give California institutions a sustained presence with Congress and the executive branch: knowing what matters, cultivating relationships before they're needed, and making the case clearly and persuasively when it counts.
Selected work
- Federal government relations for the Bay Area Council since 2021, on transportation, housing, water, wildfire, taxation, research and innovation policy and all other issues of regional consequence.
- Design, development, logistics and leadership for the Council's annual delegation of 25 to 35 business, government affairs and public agency leaders to Washington
- Government affairs for California Forever
Brand & Message
A good argument does more than command attention. It gives people a reason to believe, a reason to care and, ultimately, a reason to act. Whether the audience is policymakers, voters, investors or the public, we find the essential argument, give it a compelling voice and build the brand, message and creative to carry it.
Selected work
- Brand identity, voice and strategic communications for the New California Coalition from its 2021 founding onward
- Launched Hayward's first community and media relations office, and a social audience that grew more than 1,500% in two years
- Led Hayward's citywide brand study and the open-source rebuild of its digital communications platform, a winner in the Center for Digital Government's 2016 Best of the Web awards
- For PLEASE Management: investor messaging, brand development across multiple properties, collateral design, and digital platforms and information architecture
- Brand, messaging and investor pitch development for a range of new and classic San Francisco hospitality concepts
- Design and brand concept for Credo, a Michelin-recommended San Francisco restaurant and a readers' pick for the city's best-designed restaurant in California Home + Design
Coalitions & Campaigns
The strongest coalitions aren't always built around the usual suspects. They're forged by finding common ground among unlikely allies, aligning interests that don't always align, and turning shared goals into collective action. We bring the people, politics and strategy together to build coalitions that endure and campaigns that move the needle.
Selected work
- Founding leadership team of the New California Coalition, now more than 1,000 partner organizations across all 13 of California's economic regions
- Led the closing campaign for the SF FiDi community benefit district, now the Downtown San Francisco Partnership: $4M a year for public safety and placemaking
- Led public education effort for Hayward Measure C: $10M a year in new revenue for city services
- Early message development for ballot campaigns in their pre-qualification fundraising stage, on affordable housing, financial literacy and oil well setbacks, with SGR Consulting
Media & Public Discourse
Most firms pitch the newsroom. We've run one. Our experience on both sides of the editorial desk gives us an instinct for what makes a pitch worth taking, an op-ed worth running and an idea worth debating. We know how to earn coverage, win over editorial boards and put your voice where the public conversation is actually happening.
Selected work
- Executive oversight of a media portfolio including the San Francisco Examiner, SF Weekly, the Nob Hill Gazette and Gentry Magazine
- Creator and executive editor of “Bear Essentials,” a weekly newsletter of the New California Coalition reaching 10,000 subscribers.
- The Citizen Editorial Board Project, with 11 Bay Area news organizations
- In-depth interviews with dozens of state and federal lawmakers as founding managing editor of Policy Today
Issues we know
Not sure what you need?
That's what the first conversation is for.