Experience, Expertise, and Commitment to Client Success.
ABOUT
The lobbyists at NEA Consulting are a team with decades of experience and a proven record of results. We combine institutional knowledge and ingenuity for a thorough and thoughtful approach and a customer service focus that gives our clients a competitive edge in Ohio. This means tailoring our services to the client’s specific needs and issues, not a one size fits all lobbying engagement. We understand that state government policy deeply affects the daily lives of those within companies, trade associations, and not-for-profits and how critical quality government relations representation is to elevate your organizational objectives.
We believe it is a profound responsibility and privilege to represent our clients’ interests before legislators and policymakers. Our approach is driven by a deep respect for the principles of our clients and the objectives they seek to accomplish at the Statehouse and beyond.
OUR SERVICES
The first step to winning is tailored planning. We understand that every client has specific needs and from the outset of each engagement work through a detailed strategic planning process to set meaningful and measurable objectives that guide and inform our advocacy activities and enable us to swiftly respond to potential contingencies. In this dynamic political environment, it is more important than ever that messaging be delivered with clarity, consistency, and timeliness to key decision makers. Our Government Relations professionals take the time to get to know the organizations we work with in order to continually strategize the most effective course of action to achieve our clients’ goals.
We help our clients identify opportunities, assess obstacles and overcome challenges, recognize the tactics and develop the strategies necessary to deliver successful outcomes.
Services Include:
- Legislative and Executive Lobbying
- Policy Research and Issue Support
- Comprehensive Messaging and Presentations
- Legislative Drafting and Legal Analysis
- Political Consulting
- Coalition Building and Stakeholder Management
- Strategic Partnerships
- Trade Association Administration
OUR TEAM
Lauren Huddleston
Lauren has represented a broad spectrum of contract lobbying clients across a wide variety of industries and loves the challenge of identifying innovative policy solutions through negotiation, research, and working closely with her clients to understand the subtleties of their issues. Prior to lobbying, Lauren served as a law clerk in the Senate Republican Caucus in the office of then Senate President Pro Tempore and current Auditor of State Keith Faber, focusing on redistricting reform, legal analysis of contemplated and pending legislation, and government transparency. In Washington, Lauren served in Ohio’s 2nd District Congressional Office for then Congresswoman Jean Schmidt. In addition to her public sector experience, Lauren also served as the research assistant to nationally recognized election law expert Professor Edward Foley and contributed to his work on Ballot Battles published by Oxford Press in 2016. During her undergraduate education, Lauren worked in the Washington office of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.
Lauren holds a Bachelor’s degree in Government with honors from Georgetown University, a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from the John Glenn School and a J.D. from the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. As the philanthropy chair both at Georgetown and the Moritz College of Law, Lauren has extensive fundraising and advancement experience and was recognized with the Dean’s Special Award for extraordinary contributions to the law school community. She was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 2013 and holds a certificate in mediation training from Franklin County. Lauren has shared her political insights as a political contributor on central Ohio’s CBS affiliate, mentors law students for the Moritz College of Law Mentorship and More program, and has previously served on the OSBA Liquor and Gaming Committee.
Nathan Aichele
Nathan has vast public and private sector experience that spans nearly two decades in politics and a reputation for hard work, integrity, and achieving meaningful results on his clients’ behalf. Before founding NEA, Nathan served in the Kasich Administration and in the Ohio Senate. As the Director of Legislative Affairs in the Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nathan oversaw interactions with government entities at the local, state, and federal levels and facilitated communications with the Administration to coordinate state-based legislative protocol including the budget, JCARR, Controlling Board, and other major legislative and regulatory reforms. During his six-year tenure in the Ohio Senate, Nathan worked as the chief legislative aide to current Auditor of State and former Senate President Keith Faber and as a Legislative Service Commission Fellow assigned to the office of former Board of Regents Chancellor and current Director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia John Carey, the Finance Committee, the Judiciary Committee on Civil Justice, and the Controlling Board. Nathan has helped structure and direct successful campaigns and coordinate grassroots efforts for a number of statewide and local races and issue initiatives.
Nathan is a graduate of Denison University, where he participated and later helped manage the Lugar Program in Politics and Political Science. Nathan has an MBA from the Keller School of Management. Nathan currently serves on the Board of Education for the Art & College Preparatory Academy Charter School and the Athletics Committee for the Athletic Club of Columbus.
Steve Washington
Steve Washington has a public policy, law and business background. He worked from 1987 to 1992 in the New York City Mayor’s Office after earning his Master’s of Public Administration from Columbia University. He earned his law degree from The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University) in 1995 and practiced from 1995 to 2006 at law firms in New York City (Debevoise & Plimpton) and Cleveland (Squire Sanders & Dempsey and Jones Day). He concentrated on mergers and acquisitions, securities laws, international joint ventures and business law.
In 2006, Steve joined a financial services startup related to insurance, where he served as the managing director of business development and worked with numerous institutional investors. While there, he also served as head of governmental affairs for an industry trade association and worked at the state and federal levels to develop and guide legislation and regulations. In that capacity, Steve worked extensively in Columbus, where he applied his public policy and analytical skills to achieve favorable results and established numerous connections in the legislature and the Ohio Department of Insurance. Steve earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
MEDIA APPEARANCES
CONTACT
137 East State Street
Columbus, OH 43215
office@neaconsultingohio.com
(614) 204-4909
IG: neaconsultingohio