NAMIC Federal and Political Affairs Staff

Jimi Grande leads NAMIC’s Washington D.C. office as senior vice president of federal and political affairs, overseeing all of the association’s federal activities. He joined NAMIC in March of 2007.

Grande has spent more than 15 years working for and with top policymakers in Washington. He began his career as special assistant to former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich. Grande came to NAMIC after serving as a political appointee in the Bush Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he was a top liaison to Capitol Hill.

Grande entered politics after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Oswego in upstate NY. He currently resides in Fairfax, VA with his wife Buffy, daughter Georgia, and son Jimmy Jr.

jgrande@namic.org

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Jonathan Bergner serves as director of federal affairs in NAMIC’s Washington office. Jon is involved in the full range of NAMIC's federal government relations activities with an emphasis on issue management and communications.

Bergner has spent time on both the House and Senate side of Capitol Hill and remains active in political campaigning. Before coming to NAMIC, Jon also gained experience in consulting, lobbying, and public affairs at two well-known Washington firms.

Bergner holds a masters degree from Georgetown University and received a bachelor of arts in political theory and philosophy from the University of Virginia.

jbergner@namic.org

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Matt Brady serves as a director of public affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies in Washington, handling all public affairs and media functions related to federal and national issues.

Prior to joining NAMIC, Matt worked as a reporter and associate editor for the National Underwriter, covering federal action and industry issues. He has also worked as a reporter for Thomson Media.

Matt is a native New Yorker and a graduate of Binghamton University. He came to Washington in 2000.

mbrady@namic.org

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Kristin Eichhorn serves as NAMIC's Congressional Contact Program Director, overseeing all aspects of the program and working with NAMIC members to ensure CCP remains the industry's premier grassroots program.

Kristin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining NAMIC she worked as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service and as a teacher in a local Virginia school system.

keichhorn@namic.org

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Matt Gannon joined NAMIC’s Washington staff as assistant vice president of federal affairs. He serves as liaison to Capitol Hill works to coordinate and strengthen the legislative outreach of the association.

Gannon comes to NAMIC with a background in financial services, most recently working for five years at a major trade association serving the financial services sector. Prior to that, he worked for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Gannon holds an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and a Bachelor of Science from James Madison University. He and his wife, Audra, and twin daughters, Scarlett and Estella, reside in Alexandria, Virginia.

mgannon@namic.org

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Tom Karol serves as Federal Affairs Counsel in NAMIC’s Washington office. Tom represents NAMIC in Washington on issues impacting property casualty insurance companies and has primary management of NAMIC’s response to Dodd-Frank legislation and regulation.

Tom has extensive legal, regulatory and operations experience with major financial services companies, law firms, regulatory agencies and Congress. Tom was a leader in Deloitte’s Global Financial Services practice, a supervisory principal for a broker dealer, with the S.E.C. Division of Enforcement and with the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.

Tom graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School and has a political science degree from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. He resides in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife, Kathryn, his son David and his daughter Julianne.

tkarol@namic.org

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Caitlin Lucchino serves as Federal affairs Manager, working with the federal and political affairs team in the development and implementation of its legislative, political, and regulatory communications on behalf of NAMIC members and the p/c insurance industry. In addition, she will be managing all of NAMIC’s grassroots advocacy efforts.

Lucchino previously worked at New York-based Dukas Public Relations, and in Washington as a Legislative Assistant for former Rep. Zack Space (D-OH) handling a broad portfolio including financial services and agriculture issues. She has also worked in the Federal Affairs Department for the National Beer Wholesalers Association. Caitlin is a graduate of Villanova University and is currently working towards her Master’s degree in Public Policy at Georgetown University.

clucchino@namic.org

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Lia Seremetis serves as office manager and executive assistant to Jimi Grande in NAMIC’s Washington, DC office. She joined NAMIC in January of 2012.

Lia previously worked as a scheduler for former Rep. Zachary Space (D-OH) and moved on to work for Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) as his Legislative Correspondent and Scheduler.

Lia moved to Washington in July of 2010 immediately after graduating from the University of Cincinnati where she received a bachelor of arts in Communications and Political Science. She currently resides on Capitol Hill.

lseremetis@namic.org

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Irica Solomon serves as NAMIC’s political director and is tasked with strengthening the organization’s outreach and involvement in the federal and political arenas. She works to inform and educate both the NAMIC membership and elected officials on issues impacting the industry.

Solomon has over 15 years of Capitol Hill, policy, and advocacy experience to support her efforts. Prior to joining NAMIC, Solomon served as a legislative aide to congressional members and to President Bill Clinton and has experience working for trade associations.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political economics from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in political management from the George Washington University.

isolomon@namic.org

Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010 2:50:12 PM. Modified: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 3:48:26 PM.