Region 1
(CT, DE, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, VT)
Tom Maher
603-431-2340
thomas.maher2@verizon.net

Tom has more than 15 years of political and public affairs experience. He has organized and managed political, grassroots and media campaigns throughout the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. He has held positions on a number of congressional, presidential and gubernatorial campaigns.  In addition, Tom served on the staff of United States Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE).

Since 1994, Tom has served as a Regional Director for the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), a coalition of more than 40 nationally recognized health care companies and institutions. In this capacity, he has built coalitions on both the federal and state level.  His focus during the past 11 years has been to build a network of health care leaders on public policy issues.  The network is comprised of doctors, medical directors, insurers, pharmaceutical researchers, medical device and technology companies, small business owners, large employers and patients.

In addition to HLC, Tom has provided a variety of public affairs and public relations services for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Cover the Uninsured Week Campaign and the Small Business Health Insurance Research Study called the Main Street Initiative), Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of America, America’s Health Insurance Plans (previous known as HIAA and AAHP), the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Citizens for Better Medicare (CBM), Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Medicare Today and The Alliance to Improve Medicare.

Tom has provided marketing and media counsel to General Mills, the President’s Summit for America’s Future, Campaign for Young Voters and Citizens for Better Medicare.

Tom was graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1988 with a Bachelors degree in English. He and his wife Pam Yonkin live in Concord, New Hampshire with their daughter Sophie and son Cole.

 

Region 2
(DE, KY, NC, MD, MO, TN, VA, WV)
Brad Crone
919-834-8431
jbcrone@bellsouth.net

Brad Crone has served as the Mid-South Regional Director for the Healthcare Leadership Council since February 1993. Prior to joining the Healthcare Leadership Council, Mr. Crone served as a consultant with the NC Department of Human Resources.

Mr. Crone has been providing governmental affairs and public relation consulting services since 1991. Prior to that he was a daily newspaper publisher at The Thomasville Times in Thomasville, N.C. He was the first desk-top newspaper publisher in the state with his weekly publication The Clayton Star, which he sold in 1989. He served as a special assistant to N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Jim Graham and deputy press secretary to U.S. Senator Lauch Faircloth during his 1984 gubernatorial campaign. During his college education, Mr. Crone served as a political reporter and then afternoon editor for WPTF Radio 680, a 50,000 watt news/talk station in Raleigh, N.C.

Mr. Crone has 18 years experience in regional politics, managing grassroots campaigns in North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. He has consulted on a number of issues including: health care reform, prescription drug policies, free trade, NAFTA, Bankruptcy Reform, Animal Waste Management, Agriculture Labor policies and Volunteerism in America.

He holds a B.A. degree from North Carolina State University in Political Science and a concentration in Communications. He has additional studies at Mount Olive College, N.C., and the N.C. Institute of Government.

He is a former Rotarian, former Board of Directors member and volunteer for the Clayton Rescue Squad, former Board of Directors member for the Davidson County Salvation Army, former Board of Directors member for Branch Banking & Trust in Thomasville, NC. He currently serves as a volunteer for the N.C. Deaf-Blind Services Project.
 

Region 3
(AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, SC)
Darren Katz
404-885-9351
dkatz@edisongroup.com

Darren Katz has been a Regional Director for the Healthcare Leadership Council for nearly 10 years.  During that time, Darren has represented the HLC at events and meetings all over the Southeast. This includes nearly 200 meetings with Members of Congress, and over 75 meetings with Congressional candidates. 

Darren is also a principal and co-founder of The Edison Group, a grassroots communications firm based in Atlanta. In that capacity, Darren has represented a variety of Fortune 500 companies and national not-for-profits.

A longtime Atlanta resident, Darren has over 15 years of experience in southern politics. He has organized and managed political, media and grassroots campaigns throughout the Southeastern United States.

Darren has been retained as a campaign consultant by numerous congressional and gubernatorial campaigns. In this capacity, he has served as both political strategist and media advisor. Darren also served as a regional director for the Clinton / Gore '92 campaign. In 1996 he served as strategic counsel to the Clinton / Gore '96 campaign.

Darren was a practicing corporate attorney in Atlanta for three years.He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.

Darren received his Juris Doctor with Distinction from Emory University School of Law. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Honors Program in Political Science at the University of Florida.

 

Region 4
(IA, IL, IN, OH, MA, MI, RI, WI)
Brian Feldman
404-885-1723
bfeldman@edisongroup.com

As a Principal of The Edison Group, Mr. Feldman specializes in advocacy and public affairs, providing a variety of grassroots, coalition building and political intelligence services in the Southern region of the United States.

He has spoken to numerous groups around the country on topics including federal legislation, all aspects of healthcare and politics and elections.

Mr. Feldman has also served as a moderator and speaker at hundreds of town hall meetings on healthcare issues over the last six years.

Mr. Feldman's clients include the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), a group of more than 50 healthcare industry CEO's from the hospital, managed care, pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. In addition to providing political intelligence, Mr. Feldman conducts grassroots, coalition building and media event management for the HLC in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.

Mr. Feldman has also managed numerous state and federal projects for other corporate clients and trade associations including PhRMA, General Mills, The Air Transport Association, The Alliance for Justice, GTE, The Million Mom March Foundation and The BlueCross BlueShield Association.

Prior to serving as a public affair's consultant, Mr. Feldman was an attorney with the Atlanta law firm of Gray, Gilliland & Gold, specializing in Bankruptcy law for five years. In that capacity, Mr. Feldman represented creditors, debtors and for four years served as Attorney for a panel trustee in The Northern District of Georgia. Mr. Feldman is a member of The State
Bar of Georgia. He was also active in state and national politics, having worked for the Clinton-Gore campaigns as well as numerous Congressional and state campaigns in Florida and Georgia.

Mr. Feldman earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree cum laude from The University of Florida. He also received his Law degree with Honors from The University of Florida College of Law.

 

Region 5
(AZ, CO, KS, MN, NE, ND, NM, OK, SD, TX, UT)
Paul Pearson
405-488-0541
papearson@msn.com

Paul Pearson has more than 20 years experience in governmental relations, public policy and political campaign management. A native of Oklahoma, Mr. Pearson is president of  Paul Pearson, Inc., a public affairs company that has managed client projects in 15 Southwestern and Western states. He has extensive experience in organizing grassroots and public affairs efforts on state and federal issues.

Mr. Pearson is the Southwest Regional Director for the Healthcare Leadership Council. He has developed HLC's grassroots organization in 12 states. He currently is responsible for Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.

In addition to issue management, Pearson has managed numerous political campaigns including candidates for U.S. President, congress, governor, lieutenant governor, state legislature, and city council.  Pearson also served as political director and senior administrative assistant in the Oklahoma Governor's Office.

As a member of the governor's staff, Pearson developed the Sooner State Games and was instrumental in bringing the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival to Oklahoma.  He has long been active in community activities as an advocate for abused children and the homeless. 

Pearson is an adjunct instructor at Oklahoma State University where he has developed a series of applied politics courses for the Political Science Department. 

Mr. Pearson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Riverside and received his Masters Degree in 1978. He is married and has four children.

 

Region 6
(AK, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, WY)
Larry Krutchik
818-728-3355
lkrutchik@edisongroup.com

Larry Krutchik is a founding principal of The Edison Group, a national public affairs firm specializing in communications strategies for trade associations, corporations, and non-profit organizations. Larry runs the firm's Los Angeles office.

Larry has over 10 years of public affairs experience and has organized and managed advocacy, media and philanthropic campaigns at the national, regional and local levels.  He was previously honored by Campaign & Elections as one of its "Rising Stars of Politics."

On behalf of the Healthcare Leadership Council, Larry provides grassroots, coalition building and media relations services in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Hawaii and Alaska.  Larry also serves as a frequent speaker on health care issues and the political dynamics surrounding the health care debate.

Prior to co-founding The Edison Group, Larry spent six years as an attorney with the Los Angeles-based law firm of Barger & Wolen, handling a variety of commercial litigation matters.

Larry received his Juris Doctor, With Honors, from the University of Florida College of Law.  He also earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, With Honors, from the University of Florida.

Larry lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jill, and sons Joshua and Brendan.