Ulman Public Policy

Josh Ulman is the founder of Ulman Public Policy. For nearly twenty years, Josh has assisted businesses, associations, governments, and coalitions in developing and implementing strategies for achieving their legislative and regulatory objectives. Throughout his career, Josh has represented a wide range of industries and interests on many diverse issues and has been a key player in important legislative and regulatory initiatives. Josh has helped form and served on the management committees for a variety of coalitions and currently manages a coalition consisting of hundreds of business and professional associations. Josh regularly presents to in-house counsel and other C-suite officers and is often the keynote speaker at national conferences for clients and other associations.

Immediately prior to founding Ulman Public Policy in 2006, Josh was an attorney and lobbyist at a DC-based law firm, where he represented clients that included foreign governments, Native American tribes, corporations, and associations. During his career in Washington, Josh has also served as a policy director and lobbyist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, counsel at the Chamber’s litigation center, and Director of Government Relations for both an association of human resource executives from Fortune 500 companies and for the 300-attorney labor, employment, and employee benefits section at a large international law firm. He practiced labor, employment, and education law in Providence, Rhode Island, before coming to Washington.

Josh received his A.B. from Vassar College and his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. He lives in Northern Virginia and is a father to four boys.

Heather McTavish Doucet joined Ulman Public Policy in 2013 after a decade of managing shoe-leather lobbying campaigns, Political Action Committees and building grassroots activism programs.

Heather is the Convener for the Sustainable Urban Forest Coalition (SUFC)- a membership organization with over 36 members working to advance a unified urban forest agenda in the nation’s communities. Heather also works with other Ulman clients with direct lobbying, Political Action Committees and specialized grassroots strategy and execution, including advocacy days on Capitol Hill, facility tours and fly outs. She is certified in federal grants management.

Prior to joining Ulman Public Policy, Heather served as Director of Government Relations for the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA), where she lobbied Congress and the executive branch on labor and energy issues and served as the face of IFDA at cross-industry coalition meetings and events. She was the Assistant Treasurer to IFDAPAC and was responsible for its day-to-day operations, including hosting and attending events. Before joining IFDA in 2006, Heather worked for Hart Energy Consulting, a lobbying firm representing oil, gas and petrochemical clients, and for the American Public Works Association (APWA), where she worked on clean water, energy and environmental issues for public works agencies both in the U.S. and Canada in conjunction with the Canadian Public Works Association.

Heather is a member of Women in Government Relations (WGR) and serves on the Advisory Board for D1 Training, a fitness concept aimed at children. She also served as President of the Parent Teacher Organization at her children’s school, having raised nearly $500K during her tenure. Heather received a B.A. in International Relations from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA. Heather currently resides in Falls Church, Virginia with her husband and their three daughters.

Jennifer Ortega is a Partner with Ulman Public Policy. Since joining the firm in 2013, Jennifer has provided our clients with representation before federal and state legislatures and regulatory agencies and conducts extensive research and analysis on various issues and policy priorities, including but not limited to labor relations, workplace safety, cybersecurity, firearms permitting, data privacy, higher education, and healthcare. She has led large scale lobbying campaigns for clients involving strategy and planning, data collection, and member outreach. Additionally, she has drafted legislative language, regulatory comments, and hearing testimony for numerous clients before Congress, the Executive Branch, and state governments and has presented before various clients and other associations on various policy issues.

For the last several years, Jennifer has helped manage the day-to-day operations of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a coalition of over 500 organizations, including managing the coalition’s online content and member communications, the Coalition for Workplace Safety, and the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity.

A veteran of Capitol Hill, Jennifer worked with Rep. Todd Rokita of Indiana before joining Ulman Policy. While there, she focused her work on legislative initiatives of the congressman and constituent relations. Before her Hill experience, Jennifer worked on the New Jersey Senate Campaign for State Senator Joe Kyrillos, assisting all departments with daily responsibilities and holding a major role in the Women for Kyrillos coalition. Jennifer is a graduate of Colgate University with a degree in Political Science. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Basil Thomson joined Ulman Public Policy in 2015. Basil serves as the Executive Director of an association of leading cash-in-transit companies, which represent over eighty percent of the market in their industry. Basil represents that association and other UPP clients before policy makers in Congress and federal agencies. He provides clients with analysis of legislative and regulatory proposals introduced in the United States Congress, throughout the Executive Branch, and in state legislatures and agencies around the country. As part of this work, he leads research initiatives for clients on a multitude of issues, including urban forestry, financial services, labor relations, healthcare, immigration, and workplace safety.

Basil’s portfolio of work also includes managing coalitions run by Ulman Public Policy, driving grassroots initiatives, advising clients on PAC strategy, spearheading educational outreach efforts of members of Congress, presenting on public policy and politics at conferences and on webinars, and conducting member outreach.

Before joining the firm, he worked for a Congressman from Colorado. Basil is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a degree in International Affairs and Spanish. He lives in Southern Connecticut with his wife and their two boys.

Kathryn Branson joined Ulman Public Policy as an Associate in 2017. She regularly provides our clients with legislative and regulatory analysis on issues before Congress and federal agencies. She works to subsequently develop legislative and regulatory strategies that further clients’ objectives, and conducts accompanying research and stakeholder outreach.

Kathryn has experience building coalitions from the ground up, including spearheading the formation of a 501(c)(6) legal entity. She now serves as the organization’s executive director, which includes leading companies in the transportation, logistics, and mobility industries.

In addition, Kathryn represents client interests at coalition meetings as well as before policymakers on Capitol Hill and within the Executive Branch. She also assists clients with policy-related membership engagement, including newsletters, online blogs, and website management.

Prior to joining the firm, Kathryn worked as a legislative assistant for Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania. She handled his work on the Education and Labor Committee together with other issues, such as healthcare, technology, and agriculture. Kathryn has a degree in Political Science from Dickinson College and resides in the District of Columbia.

Bailey Graves joined Ulman Public Policy in 2019. Since her start, Bailey has managed relationships with several higher education association clients. For these clients, she leads on policy analysis, legislative and regulatory advocacy, and policy-related research and communications for issues including labor and employment, Title IX, immigration, accessibility, and cybersecurity and data privacy. Bailey has also worked with clients in the urban forestry and tree care spaces, helping with advocacy and communications campaigns for these clients.

Prior to joining the firm, Bailey interned with a Congressman from Massachusetts, working closely with their Director of Casework on their Social Security and Medicare portfolio. Bailey graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Government and Economics. She currently resides in Arlington, Virginia.

Josh Leonard joined Ulman Public Policy in 2022. In this capacity, Josh assists with research, communications, and advocacy on regulatory and legislative issues pertaining to the workforce. Specifically, Josh specializes in addressing client needs relating to security services, cash-in-transit, tree care, and autonomous vehicles. He conducts policy research, analysis, and outreach for clients at the federal, state, and local levels. Josh also manages social media profiles for multiple organizations and leads in content development and strategic messaging.

Prior to joining the firm, Josh interned for the International Republican Institute’s Transatlantic Strategy Division. There, he was responsible for preparing research reports focused on political parties, security initiatives, and elections. Throughout his undergraduate career, Josh served as a Page and later Assistant Chief Page to the South Carolina House of Representatives, where, in addition to assisting members, he produced research reports for legal counsel to the Clerk of the House.

Josh is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business and holds a degree in Business Economics with a minor in Political Science. He resides in the Washington metropolitan area.

Isabella Hindley joined Ulman Public Policy in 2023. Isabella assists clients with advocacy and research related to labor policy issues such as labor relations, workplace safety, and employment classification. She conducts policy research, provides analysis for clients at the federal, state, and local levels, and attends committee hearings and coalition meetings.

Prior to joining the firm, Isabella worked as the Labor Market and Immigration Policy Analyst at the American Action Forum. There, she led AAF’s labor market and immigration portfolios researching economic issues such as joint employer and independent contractor classification, post-pandemic labor loss, and employment-based immigration reform. She also assisted in the development of written testimonies, briefed Hill offices on the impact of current labor-related legislation and rulemaking, and initiated the organizations involvement with several coalitions.

Throughout her undergraduate career, Isabella served as an intern at both the Bipartisan Policy Center and the American Action Forum. In addition to her experience with the workings of the legislative and regulatory processes, she produced research to promote data-driven and effective public policy. Isabella is a graduate of Elon University’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and holds a degree in Economics with minors in Public Policy and Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE). She currently resides in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Madison Szabo joined Ulman Public Policy in 2023. She supports research and advocacy efforts in the urban forestry, higher education, and labor and employment industries. She offers policy analyses to clients at all levels of government and represents clients’ best interests at hearings and events.

Prior to joining the firm, Madison collaborated with the respective CEOs and co-founders of two start-up companies to drive innovative brand enhancements. She conducted industry-specific research to offer comprehensive feedback on developing ideas and crafted original copy and content for blog compositions and social media accounts. Furthermore, the breadth of her experience extends to curriculum development and academic tutoring. Throughout her undergraduate career at Wesleyan University, Madison played Division III basketball, served as Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and led DEI-related efforts within the athletics department. She holds a degree in American Studies with a minor in Education Studies. She resides in DC.