Alex Nock brings 25 years of experience in Federal education, disability, labor and health policy to Penn Hill Group. During his time in Washington, DC, Nock has been a part of every major piece of Federal education and disability policy legislation.

At Penn Hill Group, Nock manages an array of clients across the full spectrum of policy areas. He helps clients identify and secure their policy goals with Congress, the Administration, and congressional and presidential campaigns. He also helps clients better communicate their policy goals and objectives to policymakers and the public.

Prior to his position with Penn Hill Group, Nock served as the Democratic deputy staff director for the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor. From 2007–10, Nock oversaw all aspects of the committee’s work on elementary and secondary education, higher education, disability policy, early childhood education, health care, retirement security, workplace safety, mine safety, workforce training and national service.

Nock has led numerous reauthorizations while working on Capitol Hill, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Workforce Investment Act, the Higher Education Act, the Head Start Act, and Federal child nutrition laws. Nock also played key roles in advancing and securing passage of the two major higher education budget reconciliation bills in 2008 and 2010, as well as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

Nock previously served as the director of the Commission on No Child Left Behind, a bipartisan, independent effort to improve the No Child Left Behind Act. During his time with the commission, Nock recruited Commission Co-Chairs Secretary Tommy Thompson and Governor Roy Barnes, as well as the 13 commission members. Nock managed the completion of the commission’s report, which laid out a comprehensive set of recommendations for improving the No Child Left Behind Act. At the time of issuance, the commission’s report was regarded as the pre-eminent set of reauthorization recommendations.

Prior to the commission, Nock developed education and social policy on Capitol Hill. He held several positions, including education coordinator for the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where he spearheaded all Democratic policy and politics on higher education, elementary and secondary education, workforce and job training, disability policy, and other social service issues. Nock also worked for Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-CA), the Human Resources Subcommittee, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, and Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD).

Nock holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Maryland.

Dana has nearly two decades of federal and state government experience, as well as federal and state government relations. He has developed strong connections on Capitol Hill as well as in governors’ offices, state agencies, mayoral offices, and advocacy organizations on both sides of the aisle. On the Hill, Dana served as legislative director and chief counsel to Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43). He also served as chief of staff to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18).

Dana was the first African American to serve as director of a U.S. governor’s Washington, DC office. Under Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD), Dana acted as the Governor’s key liaison to the National Governors Association and worked closely with the Maryland Congressional delegation, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Ben Cardin (D-MD), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and National Capital Region leaders in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Dana has been recognized as one of DC’s “Top Lobbyists” by The Hill for the last two years and is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Gonzaga College High School, and Yale University alumni associations and the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Advisory Board.

Dana received a BA from Yale University and a JD from Catholic University of America.

A native of the DC area, Townsend Brown serves as a Policy Analyst at MultiState and works closely with the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), where he serves as their Sr. Manager of State Affairs. In this role, Townsend works hand in hand with retail companies across a variety of state issue areas, including labor and employment, data privacy, tax, and retail theft. 

Prior to this, he worked as a researcher for a federal lobbying firm in Washington, DC. Townsend holds a master’s degree in international development from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Virginia. 

As NRF’s chief workforce policy lobbyist, Ed directs advocacy efforts on labor, employment, health care, retirement, and immigration policy on behalf of the retail industry.

Ed came to NRF after supervising the National Labor Relations Board’s Office of Congressional & Public Affairs. In this role, Ed oversaw the Board’s interactions with Congress, other federal agencies, the media, and stakeholder groups.

Prior to his work at the NLRB, Ed directed federal policy for the Xerox Corporation, advocating for the company’s interests on employee benefits, corporate governance, and employment issues.

From 2005 to 2011, Ed was Republican Staff Director of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, a key subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Reporting to Chairman Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Ed led Republican efforts on issues related to the National Labor Relations Act, ERISA, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Occupational Safety & Health Act. He covered similar issues in the 108th Congress for then-HELP Committee Chairman Judd Gregg.

Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Ed spent four years in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits Division.

A Maryland native, Ed holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He and his wife Joy reside in Nokesville, Virginia with their two sons, Wynn and Jack.

Bill Kramer has been with the company since 2011. Recognized for his wide breadth of state legislative and policy knowledge, Bill oversees the firm's research services, advises clients on strategic government affairs initiatives, develops and manages coalitions and associations, and pens the weekly Morning MultiState newsletter, among other problem-solving endeavors.

At the onset of the 2020 pandemic, Bill was integral in quickly organizing internal resources to create MultiState's COVID-19 State and Local Policy Tracker, a resource library and data dashboard providing clients and the public with timely, accurate information on the state and local government responses to COVID-19. Subsequently, Bill has launched similar policy tracking projects focused on reproductive health care and artificial intelligence policy.

He is an experienced lawyer and association executive who served as deputy executive director of the Council of State Chambers (COSC) — the association of state chambers of commerce — and built the COSC Policy Center from the ground up. Bill is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) where he was a member of the Government Relations Section Council and chaired the State Relations Subcommittee from 2016 to 2019. Bill became a Certified Association Executive (CAE) in 2018 and is a member of both the State Bar of California and the DC Bar.

Bill has addressed and presented to dozens of trade and professional organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Public Affairs Council (PAC), State Government Affairs Council (SGAC), and The Council of State Government (CSG). Major publications have quoted Bill as a policy and industry expert, including The Wall Street Journal,  The New York Times, Politico, Pluribus News, and Governing Magazine.

His previous experience includes the U.S. Senate, California State Assembly, and Legislative Counsel's Office of California. Bill earned his bachelor's degree in history from Ohio University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the McGeorge Law Review. Bill considers himself a policy generalist but has a passion for technology and infrastructure issues. He also enjoys developing future leaders, and as such, initiated and coordinates MultiState's internship program.

Leslie Ferragut is a seasoned professional and Director of Enterprise Solutions for the Public Sector & Government Industry. With over 20 years of experience, Leslie has collaborated extensively with public sector organizations, including the Department of Defense (DoD), federal civilian agencies, as well as state, local, and municipal entities. Her expertise spans a wide range of enterprise-level solutions, including risk and compliance, government contracting and  procurement, programmatic SaaS initiatives, and supply chain strategies within the defense industrial base. Driven by exceptional business acumen and a curious mind, Leslie has developed a strong passion for human capital management in a post-COVID world. Her focus areas include talent development and management, workforce analytics, and fostering inclusive workplace cultures. Through her work with SHRM Enterprise, Leslie empowers public sector  organizations to advance their missions and deliver citizen-centric services by leveraging best practices to achieve optimal outcomes. Residing in the Washington, D.C., area, Leslie draws inspiration from her environment, fueling her dedication to enhancing human capital management across the public sector.

Tillman Breckenridge is an experienced appellate lawyer whose practice includes a diverse range of matters. In 2018, he became the youngest fellow ever—and the first under 40—elected to the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Tillman has represented companies, organizations, individuals, and foreign, state, and local governments before the United States Supreme Court, every federal court of appeals, and several state courts, such as the Supreme Court of Virginia, the California Courts of Appeal, and the Illinois Courts of Appeal. His work has led to numerous honors. He has been named to Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Lawyers in America; an honorary member of the Order of the Barristers; a Washington, D.C. SuperLawyer; and a member of Virginia’s Legal Elite. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

 Outside of his private practice, Tillman has served as an adjunct professor of law at William and Mary Law School, where he founded the Appellate & Supreme Court Clinic. And he regularly speaks on appellate and related topics. Tillman earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he argued (successfully) his first appeal as a third-year student in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in a case that presented an issue of first impression.