Witt Associates' Government Relations Experiences Significant Expansion

WASHINGTON, D.C.—OCTOBER 4, 2012-- Witt Associates, the leader in public safety and crisis management, today announced that it has significantly expanded its Government Relations Division.

Bolstering the team are four professionals with long tenures and a wide range experiences on Capitol Hill, federal agencies, state legislatures, and in advocacy. George Kopp, Senior Advisor and Counsel, John Weinfurter, Vice President, Jon Harsch, Director and Megan Rodgers, Legislative Assistant joined the firm. The division is led by Witt Associates President Barry W. Scanlon and the expansion complements the Witt Associates Arkansas Government Relations practice based in Little Rock.

The team has grown the government relations practice into new areas including aviation, insurance and financial services.  The government relations division’s core services focus on advocacy, partnership development, economic development, coalition building, crisis management, issues management and monitoring, policy development and corporate and community relations.

“Client demand for more government relations services compelled Witt Associates to expand the breadth and reach of our resources to serve their needs,” said Barry W. Scanlon, President Witt Associates. “We are pleased to have such an accomplished bipartisan focused team of government relations experts who will be able to provide their expertise to our current and future clients in addition to serving the impressive client roster they have brought to Witt Associates."

While recent surveys have shown that over half of the top 20 government relations firms in the country have shown a down turn in representation services by between 2%-30%, Witt Associates has seen a significant three fold growth.

“Witt Associates will draw on existing relationships and the reputation of our current and new Government Relations team members and that of our Chairman and founder James Lee Witt,” Scanlon said. “Witt is predominantly known as someone who reached across the aisle and found solutions with partnerships with people of all political persuasions. This strong group of government relations executives shares this bipartisan ethic, and has helped triple our revenue as well as providing the foundation to be a leading DC Government Relations firm in 2013 and beyond.” 

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ABOUT WITT ASSOCIATES

Witt Associates is a public safety and crisis management consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., with consultants located throughout the country. Witt Associates has unrivaled experience and hands-on knowledge of emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. Witt Associates bridges government agencies and non-profits with industry and citizens as they assist state and local governments to prepare for and recover from disasters and crisis.  More information can be found at www.wittassociates.com.

Press Contact:

Kim Fuller, Witt Associates, 202-585-0780, kfuller@wittassociates.com