Kieran Mahoney is a Partner of Mercury Public Affairs and one of the most highly sought after political and public affairs strategists in the nation.
The New York Times calls him one of the “best political strategists of his generation.” Mr. Mahoney has managed races in more than thirty states for clients including Senator Gordon Smith, presidential candidate Bob Dole and presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole. In addition, he possesses an unrivaled knowledge of New York politics with Governor George Pataki and former Senator Alfonse D’Amato among his clients. Furthermore, Mr. Mahoney has managed successful public affairs campaigns, proxy fights and public relations battles for industry leaders in telecommunications, healthcare, energy and transportation, among others.
Gregory Strimple is a Founding Partner of Mercury Public Affairs and the firm’s director of public opinion research and advertising.
Mr. Strimple has conducted hundreds of local, state, national and international public opinion surveys for corporations, business coalitions and political campaigns. Altogether, he has conducted survey research in forty-nine states and several foreign countries, including Argentina and Panama.
Kirill Goncharenko is a Founding Partner of Mercury Public Affairs and leads the firm's operations in Washington, D.C., California, Texas, St. Louis and Minneapolis. In addition, Mr. Goncharenko manages FHGR, the national lobbying firm owned by Fleishman-Hillard and managed by Mercury Public Affairs.
Prior to founding Mercury Public Affairs, Mr. Goncharenko worked in international relations in the United States Senate, served as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for a $3 billion healthcare company with 65,000 employees and as an Executive Vice President of global crisis communications at Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations firm.
Thomas Doherty is a Partner of Mercury Public Affairs and heads the firm’s lobbying and government relations practice in Albany, NY.
Drawing from his fifteen-year career in local, county, state and federal government, Mr. Doherty provides strategic consulting and issues management to various corporations as well as state agencies and authorities. He has firsthand knowledge of the people and politics that drive the State’s decision-making process—giving his clients unmatched representation in New York. As the former Deputy Secretary of Appointments for Governor George Pataki, he oversaw all appointments to state departments and agencies, commissions, committees, task forces and boards. Mr. Doherty’s other assignments include serving as Executive Director of “Victory 98” for the New York State Republican Committee, Eastchester Councilman, and Public Information Officer for the Westchester Department of Environmental Facilities.
Michael McKeon is a Partner of Mercury Public Affairs and handles crisis communications and strategic consulting for numerous corporations, New York State officials, agencies and authorities.
Mr. McKeon has seven years of experience working at the senior levels of government in New York State, most recently as Communications Director for Governor George Pataki. As a top advisor for Governor Pataki, Mr. McKeon helped shape critical public policy and strategic decisions for the state. In the aftermath of September 11th, he worked closely with Governor Pataki, Mayor Giuliani, state officials and the Bush administration to manage the State’s response to the attacks. Recently, Mr. McKeon served as a member of the distinguished panel of judges for the International World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition that selected the memorial for Ground Zero. Before joining the Pataki administration, Mr. McKeon was an award-winning reporter for several New York newspapers, including the Albany Times Union.
Terry Nelson is a Partner of Mercury Public Affairs and runs our Washington, D.C. office.
Terry Nelson has consistently demonstrated high levels of success in both the strategic and tactical areas of campaigns. He has played a senior role in the last three elections and was named one of "Politics Fabulous Fifty" -- a listing of the fifty most influential political operatives in Washington. He is currently Senior Advisor to Straight Talk America, Senator John McCain's political action committee.
Steve Schmidt is a Partner of Mercury Public Affairs and leads the firm's operations in California.
Recognized as one of the top political strategists in the country, Mr. Schmidt provides high-level counsel to political candidates, elected officials, and major corporations and organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, Hollywood studios and professional sports teams. He is currently a Senior Advisor to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. Prior to joining Mercury, Mr. Schmidt served as Campaign Manager for the re-election of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. Before the Schwarzenegger campaign, Mr. Schmidt served as a member of the White House senior staff as Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor to the Vice President. He was also one of the top strategists on President Bush's 2004 re-election and was a member of the senior strategic planning group that directed the campaign.
Adam Mendelsohn is a Partner of Mercury Public Affairs.
Prior to joining MPA, Mr. Mendelsohn served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to the Associated Press, "Mendelsohn was a key member of the team that helped Schwarzenegger refashion his image." Governor Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, called Mendelsohn "one of the best communications strategists I've ever worked with."
John Lonergan is a Managing Director of Mercury Public Affairs.
At Mercury since 1999, Mr. Lonergan has garnered deep experience in the public affairs, political consulting and New York State government relations practices by providing counsel to leading corporations and coalitions such as Pfizer, Sallie Mae, Greyhound Bus Lines, Lockheed Martin, the American Health Care Association and Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Most recently, Mr. Lonergan has primarily worked as a strategist advising corporate clients engaged in public affairs campaigns in New York State. Drawing upon his extensive experience on the campaign trail and his knowledge of policy positions, Mr. Lonergan develops communication strategies and tactics that will most effectively persuade lawmakers, administration officials and other opinion leaders in order to achieve a client’s business objectives. His approach to public affairs is based on integrated communications – encompassing a full range of tactics including public opinion research, advertising, public relations, lobbying and grassroots/grasstops mobilization. Mr. Lonergan also serves as a registered lobbyist in New York State, representing the interests of a variety of clients before the legislature and state agencies.
Sara Jones is a Managing Director of Mercury Public Affairs.
Sara Jones is a Managing Director of Mercury Public Affairs in Los Angeles and heads the firm's Litigation and Regulatory Communications practice. One of the foremost experts in crisis and issues management, she specializes in devising strategy to mitigate complex, high-risk situations. Her issue expertise ranges from activist-waged corporate campaigns and government investigations to environmental incidents and health scares. Over the course of her career, Ms. Jones has played an integral role in safeguarding corporate and brand reputation for numerous Fortune 500 corporations, earning a reputation as a highly effective and trusted counselor.
Jonathan Greenspun is a Managing Director of Mercury Public Affairs.
Prior to joining Mercury, Mr. Greenspun was appointed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to serve as Commissioner of the Mayor's Community Assistance Unit. Mr. Greenspun was the youngest Commissioner in the Bloomberg administration and among the youngest commissioners in New York City's history.
Brian Jones is a Managing Director of Mercury Public Affairs.
Respected for his management and strategic communications skills, Brian Jones most recently served as the Communications Director for Senator John McCain's presidential campaign, overseeing the campaign's messaging, response, regional media, speechwriting and research operations. Jones also served as McCain's chief spokesperson.
Trygve Olson is a Managing Director of Mercury Public Affairs.
For the past twenty-years, Trygve has provided political strategy and counsel for public affairs campaigns, political parties and candidates seeking all levels of public office around the world. He has worked in over thirty countries on five continents.
Liliana Esposito is a Senior Vice President of Mercury Public Affairs.
Prior to joining Mercury, Ms. Esposito served as Public Affairs Manager for the U.S. division of Mars, Incorporated, one of the world's largest food manufacturers. Ms. Esposito was responsible for Crisis & Issues Management, State & Federal Government Affairs, Corporate Communications and Community Relations activities for the company's corporate headquarters and multiple manufacturing sites.
Maureen Sheffler is a Vice President of Mercury Public Affairs.
Ms. Sheffler is responsible for managing the firm's public opinion research operations. Since joining Mercury in 2001, Ms. Sheffler has managed the firm's opinion polling projects for both political and corporate clients. By conducting extensive preliminary research and carefully crafting questionnaires and messaging documents, Ms. Sheffler ensures that the survey results provide meaningful insights into a client's challenges and opportunities that can be translated into an effective campaign strategy. Ms. Sheffler applies her expertise to the firm's development of leading-edge public affairs campaigns that utilize a variety of political campaign-style tactics, including grassroots outreach, stakeholder engagement, direct mail, issue advertising and earned media relations.
Jonathan Berrier is a Vice President of Mercury Public Affairs.
Mr. Berrier brings to Mercury a portfolio of professional experience in local, state, and national politics, as an operative with the Republican National Committee, and as a political appointee in the Bush Administration. Since joining Mercury, he has been responsible for coordinating several successful and ongoing multi-million dollar public affairs campaigns involving survey research, paid media, grassroots, lobbying and other communications disciplines.
Andy Davis is a Vice President of Mercury Public Affairs.
Mr. Davis has extensive experience in political and public affairs campaigns across the country. In 2006, Mr. Davis was the Research Director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful re-election campaign where he managed the opposition research effort. Prior to joining Californians for Schwarzenegger, he established and directed the Research Operations Center at the Republican National Committee. National Journal has called the RNC's Research Operations Center "one of the premier news monitoring operations in the political world." While there, Mr. Davis helped shape the research and communications strategies during the historic Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Samuel A. Alito Jr. and John G. Roberts Jr.
Laura Braden is a Vice President of Mercury Public Affairs.
Ms. Braden has extensive experience in public affairs and strategic communications. From 2006-2008, she served as deputy communications director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, where she executed earned media and surrogate programs on issues like energy, climate change, infrastructure, economic growth and agriculture. Ms. Braden was also responsible for coordinating the Governor’s entertainment and international media and events.