☎︎ 713-471-5024
Hon. John A. Culberson, Partner, (Houston, TX) - JD, South Texas College of Law; BA, Southern Methodist University. John represented Houston’s District 7 in the United States Congress from 2001-2019. He served on the House Appropriations Committee for 16 years chairing two subcommittees: Commerce, Justice and Science, (CJS); and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. One of John’s top priorities on the Appropriations Committee was to restore NASA funding to Apollo-era levels. In his four years as CJS chairman, he increased overall NASA funding by 20%, increased Science funding by 27%, and increased Planetary Science funding by 100%.
He is a strong supporter of NASA’s partnership with commercial space providers to help American astronauts return to low-Earth orbit and the moon and beyond. John was instrumental in the development of a 50-year blueprint for NASA that begins with the Ocean Worlds outer planet program and the search for life in the oceans of Europa, Titan and Enceladus, followed by development of the next generation of space telescopes, and a Starshade to identify the nearest Earth-like exoplanets with spectroscopic signatures of life. The 50-year blueprint would conclude in 2069 with the launch of humanity’s first interstellar probe to the nearest Earth-like planet with the most promising signs of life.
In late 2019, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine recognized John’s success in lifting NASA funding to near-record levels by presenting him with NASA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Public Service Medal. In 2019, John was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Dr. Robert Ballard’s Ocean Exploration Trust, and to the Board of Trustees of the American Battlefield Trust. In 2020, John was appointed by The White House and Administrator Bridenstine to serve on the National Space Council’s Users’ Advisory Group to advise the President and Vice President on the future of America’s space program.
☎︎ 941-962-9266
Allison Hays, Partner, brings more than 15 years of expertise across the ocean, academic, and wildlife sectors to Federal Science Partners. During her time leading the Public Affairs program at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL), she championed ocean and coastal priorities for COL’s cross-sectoral membership consisting of academic institutions, industry, aquaria, science associations, and more. Her work included advocating for federal funding to grow and advance our nation’s ocean enterprise; leading coalition efforts that successfully revitalized the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, a public-private and interagency ocean partnership program; and working with Congress, the administration, and non-federal partners to increase support for the recapitalization and modernization of coastal and ocean infrastructure, to grow the ocean-STEM pipeline, to support and expand extramural partnership opportunities, and to bring attention to other important ocean and coastal issues ranging from growing our ocean observing capabilities to understanding marine biodiversity to eliminating ocean plastic pollution. She also hosted COL’s annual public policy forum and led internal and external-facing communications efforts. Prior to her time at COL, Ms. Hays worked at The Humane Society of the United States where she led legislative initiatives to protect and conserve wildlife and to strengthen the Endangered Species Act.
If asked, Ms. Hays would admit that working a desk job (or running around Capitol Hill) was an unexpected but welcome shift in her career. After completing her undergraduate studies in biology at Principia College, she began work in marine turtle and dolphin care and rehabilitation at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, where she then shifted gears to marine turtle monitoring and research. While getting her master’s degree in biology at the University of Central Florida, she focused her independently developed thesis on understanding how and why rebuilding eroded beaches affects marine turtles nesting on those same sandy shores. While the excitement of encountering a nesting loggerhead, leaping off a boat after a juvenile green turtle, or successfully untangling a small-toothed sawfish or a bull shark from a net (all activities performed under the appropriate permits) never got old, Ms. Hays found that she enjoyed communicating the science that came out of those activities to decision makers. That desire to ensure science informs decision making led her to DC, and she has never looked back (unlike the philopatric sea turtles she so admires).
A fifth-generation Texan, Ms. Hays recently relocated from DC to Colorado where she lives with her husband and two cats.
☎︎ 703-825-0513
Mr. John Martens, Partner, has over 30 years of experience working for all three branches of government; for the last 21 years John has leadership roles on the House Appropriations Committee, most recently as Senior Advisor on the Full Committee. John has been a key leader in the development of legislative and negotiating strategies used to enact dozens of bipartisan appropriations acts including annual appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, and emergency supplementals. John has led several Appropriations Subcommittees as the Clerk/Staff Director including the Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee, the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, and the Interior and Environment Subcommittee.
John has a wealth of experience formulating policy and setting funding levels for a diverse array of federal agencies including the Departments of Commerce, Interior, Justice and Treasury, the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Forest Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and many more. In his various roles for the Committee, John has worked collaboratively with Members and staff of both parties, authorizing committees, agency staff, and other stakeholders.
Prior to working for Congress, John was a budget analyst for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts where he formulated and executed budgets for the Third Branch of government and staffed the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. John started his federal career as budget analyst for the Naval Sea Systems Command.
John lives in Burke, Virginia with his wife and has a daughter attending Lehigh University and a son at Virginia Tech. John has a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon College and master’s degree from Troy University.
☎︎ 703-615-4631
Meg Thompson, Founding Partner, leverages more than 20 years of Capitol Hill experience in support of her clients, helping them advance and achieve their funding priorities. Prior to working as a consultant, Ms. Thompson was professional staff on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, where she had oversight for the Department of Justice. Previously, Ms. Thompson was staff to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, where she had primary responsibility for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Preparedness Directorate. Earlier, Ms. Thompson served on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, and oversaw the budget for the Department of Labor. Ms. Thompson began her career on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, and Related Agencies.
In addition to her time on the Hill, Ms. Thompson was Director of Communications for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, managing congressional and corporate communications, and interfacing with the chief communications officers of corporate sponsors including ExxonMobil and Shell Oil. Ms. Thompson was previously a lobbyist for health and medical research clients, including the National Coalition for Cancer Research and the Schering-Plough Corporation. Ms. Thompson represented the Campaign for Medical Research, which was dedicated to the successful doubling of the NIH budget between 1997-2002.
A native Washingtonian, Ms. Thompson is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross. Ms. Thompson lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband, three daughters, and two Brittany Spaniels.
☎︎ 202-215-7500
Joel Widder, Founding Partner, has been a government relations consultant to universities and scientific institutions since 2002. In that time, Mr. Widder has helped a diverse set of organizations achieve their funding and public policy priorities. Earlier in his career, Mr. Widder was employed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) where he served as the Acting Director and Deputy Director for the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, with responsibilities for the development and execution of the NSF’s strategy and participation in the congressional budget process (annual budget resolution, authorization legislation, and annual appropriations legislation) and the legislative oversight process. Before leaving NSF, Mr. Widder also served for two years on detail to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s former Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies where he assisted the Subcommittee on issues related to research and education, space, and the environment.
Mr. Widder was an original member of NOAA’s Environmental Information Services Working Group, which reports to the NOAA Science Advisory Board. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Board on Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate within the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities; and has recently completed his term on the American Meteorological Society’s Weather & Climate Enterprise Commission’s Steering Committee.
Mr. Widder is originally from New York and is a graduate of the University of Maryland and pursued graduate studies at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Mr. Widder lives with his wife in Silver Spring, Maryland.