ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MultiState Associates Inc. announced today that Maureen B. Riehl will join the company as principal and counsel. Starting in October, she will be based at the Alexandria, Va., headquarters of the state and local government relations company. Riehl will work with clients on all MultiState services and focus on new business development.
“We are delighted to have Maureen join us at MultiState,” said, Marcie McNelis, the firm’s chairman. “Maureen is widely known as a leader in the state and federal government affairs communities. With her extensive experience with national trade associations, she has an intuitive understanding of our clients’ needs. She is a tremendous addition to our executive team.”
Riehl joins MultiState following a diverse career in state government and for various Washington-based business trade associations, bringing a unique blend of state and federal government relations and management experience to the firm. Riehl most recently spent four years with the Council On State Taxation (COST), where she was vice president for government affairs, overseeing both federal and state legislative activities for the highly regarded business tax group. In addition to her advocacy responsibilities at COST, Riehl grew and directed federal lobbying activities for the Mobile Workforce Coalition, a 275-member business organization seeking to modernize state rules for nonresident withholding of personal income tax – a leadership role she will continue to perform for COST and coalition members while at MultiState.
Prior to joining COST, Riehl spent 12 years as vice president of government and industry relations counsel for the National Retail Federation (NRF), where she served as the lead national state issues spokesperson and liaison to state retail associations, the Council of State Retail Associations, state legislative and administration officials, and state policy groups for the nation’s largest retail association. Her areas of expertise included internet sales taxation, privacy and identity security, supply chain technology, fraud and loss prevention, e-commerce and other key retail issues. While at NRF, Riehl frequently testified before Congress and state legislatures, and was featured in national media including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Journal, CSPAN, NPR, CNBC, Fox News, NBC, Bloomberg and others.
Before NRF, Riehl held government affairs and counsel positions for the International Franchise Association, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the State Advertising Coalition. While in law school, Riehl served on the legislative staff for members of the Michigan House of Representatives and for a leader in the Michigan Senate.
As a recognized leader in the state government relations community, Riehl currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the NCSL Foundation for State Legislatures, an organization dedicated to strengthening the state legislative process through a public-private dialogue. She has also served as the president of the State Government Affairs Council, the premier national association for multistate government affairs executives, and on the board of directors of the Washington Area State Relations Group, another association of government relations professionals.
Riehl earned her juris doctorate from Thomas Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, and dual bachelor’s degrees in communications and political science from Michigan State University.
Expands Nation’s Leading State and Local Tax Policy Practice
Tax policy can be one of the most challenging issues for government affairs executives. MultiState’s state and local team understands the issues, knows the key players and helps companies and trade associations effectively navigate in this arena. To best serve its clients, MultiState’s tax policy practice is expanding to include Elizabeth L. Malm, who joins the company as a senior policy analyst and economist.
“Liz is highly regarded as a tax policy expert, and provides trusted and engaging economic analysis,” said Joe Crosby, MultiState principal and head of the tax policy practice. “She is a wonderful addition to our team.”
Malm joins MultiState following three years with the Tax Foundation, where she served as an economist on the state tax policy team. In addition to her research and analysis responsibilities, Malm managed the Tax Foundation’s state chart book program and regularly spoke in front of state lawmakers and tax professionals around the country. Her analysis and commentary has been featured in numerous state and national publications, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
Malm holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wyoming in economics and history and a master’s degree in economics from Duke University.
About MultiState:
Founded in 1984, MultiState Associates Inc. is the nation’s top provider of state and local government relations services. Being the largest single retainer of state and local lobbyists, MultiState’s experience, expertise and unique network of more than 2,000 on-site lobbyists translates into the most convenient and cost-effective way for corporations and trade associations to secure the local information and contacts needed to achieve their political and business objectives.
More than 250 companies and trade and professional associations use MultiState to optimize their public policy efforts. MultiState clients utilize combinations of the following complementary core services: Legislative and executive branch lobbying; legislative and regulatory tracking; political, statutory, and regulatory research; government procurement strategy, lobbying, and bid support; coalition management; consulting; Lobbying Compliance Service; and the Campaign Finance & Lobbying Law Database. MultiState can be found on the web at www.multistate.com.
