Speakers
Brad Close
NFIB President & CEO
Brad Close is President of NFIB, the nation's leading small business advocacy organization. As NFIB's chief executive officer, Brad focuses on advancing NFIB's advocacy efforts in Washington, DC and through the organization's unmatched 50-state network and grassroots operation.
Adam Temple
NFIB Senior Vice President, Advocacy
Adam Temple is Senior Vice President, Advocacy for NFIB. In this role, Adam oversees the organization's media relations, marketing, digital and online communications. Adam came to NFIB from JDA Frontline, a full-service public affairs firm. He previously served on the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. John McCain and as the press secretary to U.S. Sen. Jim De Mint. He started his career at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
U.S. Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer is proud to represent Oregon’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which covers Linn County, most of Clackamas County, Deschutes County, and parts of Multnomah and Marion Counties.
Prior to serving in Congress, Lori started her public service career in 2002 on the Happy Valley Parks Committee, where she helped build the Happy Valley 4th of July Festival that it is today. Later, she won a seat on the Happy Valley City Council and became city council president. She was elected mayor in 2010, becoming Happy Valley’s first female and Latina mayor. She was re-elected in 2014. In 2022, she was elected the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. She is one of the first Latinas and is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from the state of Oregon.
Lori is a mom and small businesswoman. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, and supported the couple as he finished medical school. Later they founded an anesthesia management company and opened several other medical clinics in the Pacific Northwest.
Lori and Shawn are parents of twin daughters who are making their own footprints in the world. Annie works as a senior recruiter for Anesthesia Associates Northwest, while Emilie is an assistant public defender in Michigan.
David Wasserman
Senior Election Analyst, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and NBC Contributor
David Wasserman is the Senior Election Analyst for the non-partisan newsletter, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, and a contributor to NBC News. Founded in 1984, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter provides analyses of U.S. presidential, Senate, House, and gubernatorial races. The New York Times called The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter “a newsletter that both parties regard as authoritative.”
Wasserman analyzes the current political environment in lively and entertaining presentations that he can tailor to his audiences’ specific interests or locales. His data-driven forecasting looks at both national and local trends (if requested, he can even do a district-by-district outlook), the relationship between consumer brand loyalty and voting, and what the future holds for American elections. He is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speaker's bureau.
Highly Praised Expertise. Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com has written: “Wasserman’s knowledge of the nooks and crannies of political geography can make him seem like a local,” and the Los Angeles Times called Wasserman “whip smart” and a “scrupulously nonpartisan” analyst whose “numbers nerd-dom was foretold at a young age.” Chuck Todd, host of NBC's Meet the Press, recently called David "pretty much the only person you need to follow on Election Night."
In 2016, Wasserman drew wide praise for his accurate pre-election analysis, including his uncanny September piece entitled, “How Trump Could Win the White House While Losing the Popular Vote.” Leading Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson concluded, “Nobody of my generation knows American politics as well as Dave Wasserman.”
Political Intelligence. Wasserman has served as an analyst for the NBC News Election Night Decision Desk since 2008 and has also appeared on Fox News, CNN, and NPR. His commentary has been cited in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, POLITICO, and the Washington Post. In 2018, his groundbreaking interactive collaboration with FiveThirtyEight, the "Atlas of Redistricting," took top prize for News Data App of the Year.
An enthusiast for data and maps, Wasserman serves as a contributing writer to the Almanac of American Politics. A frequent speaker and guest lecturer, he has shared insights into the latest political trends with audiences at Harvard's Institute of Politics, the Dole Institute of Politics, and the University of Chicago Institute of Politics – where he was named a resident Pritzker Fellow in 2019.
Prior to joining The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter in 2007, Wasserman served for three years as House editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a widely respected political analysis newsletter and website founded by renowned University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato. A native of New Jersey, Wasserman is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he was awarded the 2006 Emmerich-Wright Outstanding Thesis prize.
Kevin Kuhlman
NFIB Vice President, Federal Government Relations
Kevin Kuhlman leads the NFIB Federal Government Relations team, guiding policy and directing the organizations advocacy effort. He and his team work directly with the Senators, Representatives, and the Administration to ensure NFIB members' voices are heard as they craft legislation and policies.
Kipp Maloney
NFIB Vice President of Grassroots, Political, Development, Compliance and Operations Services
Kipp Maloney is the Vice President of Grassroots, Political, Development, Compliance, and Operations Services for NFIB. He oversees all aspects of grassroots advocacy, fundraising for NFIB’s state and federal political action committees, supporting candidates whose voting records support the small-business agenda, educating the small-business community on the candidates NFIB supports, ensuring that the organization complies with all federal and state regulatory requirements. Prior to joining NFIB he managed statewide ballot initiatives at Winner & Mandabach Campaigns.
Jeff Brabant
NFIB Director, Government Relations
Jeff is a director of Federal Government Relations at NFIB, the nation's leading small business advocacy organization. Jeff is a member of the federal lobbying team and reports to Kevin Kuhlman. Jeff's NFIB portfolio includes labor and financial services policy.
Jeff joined NFIB in early 2018 with over 10 years of experience working on Capitol Hill. Jeff worked for three former Members of Congress including U.S. Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, the former Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan, and U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur.
Jeff is a native of Randolph, New Jersey, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA). Jeff currently resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife Katie and son Emmett.
Jamie Cobby
NFIB Senior Regional Grassroots Manager
Jamie Cobby is a Senior Regional Grassroots Manager overseeing a team of grassroots advocacy professionals to ensure the voice of small business is heard in the state capitals and Washington, DC. She develops strategic grassroots campaigns to build strong key contacts among NFIB members. Before joining NFIB, she worked at the Illinois Bankers Association and led their grassroots efforts. Jamie grew up in a small business family of NFIB members.
Josselin Castillo
NFIB Manager, Federal Government Relations
Josselin Castillo is a Manager of Federal Government Relations for NFIB. She is responsible for leading the organization's efforts to represent the interests of small business owners in the healthcare policy arena, promoting policies that result in affordable, flexible and predictable health insurance options.
Josh McLeod
NFIB Manager, Federal Government Relations
Josh joined the NFIB federal lobbying team in December 2022.
Josh joins NFIB with over 12 years of experience in government and government affairs. He most recently served as Senior Policy Advisor for U.S. Senator Ron Johnson.
Josh began his career with Senator Johnson in 2011. He later served as Senior Professional Staff Member for Chairman Johnson on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Josh was born in Wisconsin but grew up in Pennsylvania. He attained a bachelor's degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice from Widener University in Chester, PA. Following college, Josh played professional baseball before beginning his career in Washington, DC.
Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Andrea and their three children.
Elizabeth Parks
NFIB Senior Regional Grassroots Manager
Elizabeth Parks is a Senior Regional Grassroots Manager for NFIB. In this role she leads a team of grassroots managers in developing and maintaining a strong network of engaged NFIB members across the states. She previously served as the deputy chief of staff to U.S. Representative Trent Kelly (MS-01) and as the communications director to U.S. Representative Alan Nunnelee (MS-01). She started her career as a legislative staffer covering various policy portfolios and grew up in an entrepreneur household. Her mother owned and operated a convenience store and deli for 19 years.
Sharon Sussin
NFIB Senior National Political Director
As the Senior National Political Director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Sharon is responsible for directing NFIB’s political activities on behalf of pro-small business candidates in Congress. She manages NFIB’s federal candidate endorsement process which in the last several election cycles have included nearly 300 congressional endorsements each year. Sharon also runs the member education and Get out the Vote (GOTV) programs which focuses on motivating small business owners to engage in the political process using Voter Guides, targeted communications, “on the ground” events and paid media. Sharon has been with NFIB since November 1992 and a member of the Political Department since 1995.
Stefanie Williams
NFIB National Director of Development
Stefanie Williams is National Director of Development for NFIB. She leads the development efforts for NFIB's PACs at the federal and state level. She and her team also manage the Leadership Trust program - NFIB's major donor program, recognizing business leaders who are the top supporters of NFIB's political efforts in electing pro-small business candidates at the state and federal level and educating voters. Stefanie has a decade of experience fundraising for political candidates and organizations, including U.S. Senate & U.S. Congressional races across the country.