Michael is a partner in FTP’s federal government relations practice, focused on health and agriculture policy. Michael brings deep Democratic policy expertise shaped by senior roles in labor, tax, trade, and healthcare.
Over nearly a decade in and around government, Michael understands the risk and opportunity that D.C. presents for clients. As legislative director to Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA) and in the office of Senator Doug Jones (D-AL), Michael advanced legislative priorities through committee work, coalition strategy, and caucus leadership.
Michael joined FTP to help guide clients through the complex and ever-changing landscape of Washington, D.C. He offers sharp political instincts, trusted relationships across the party, and deep connectivity to the current generation of Hill leaders. Whether he is guiding Fortune 500s or advising startups, Michael is keenly focused on how government relations can produce ROI for the business of his clients.
Kelley is a partner in FTP’s federal government relations practice. A federal lobbyist and legislative strategist with more than 20 years of experience, she represents Fortune 500 companies, Wall Street institutions, and national trade associations before Congress and federal agencies. Her practice centers on financial services, insurance, and banking policy, and extends across transportation, telecommunications, and fintech. She is a well-respected advocate on Capitol Hill, known for her engagement with House Democrats and financial services-focused members of the House Financial Services Committee.
Before joining FTP, Kelley served as associate vice president of legislative affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), where she was the organization’s lead Democratic lobbyist for the House of Representatives. In that role, she drove MBA’s legislative agenda on GSE reform, real estate investment trust policy, flood insurance, High Volatility Commercial Real Estate loans, and regulatory relief.
Before MBA, Kelley served as director of government affairs at The Hartford, one of the largest insurance companies in the United States, where she managed the company’s federal lobbying on insurance policy. She began her career at the American Land Title Association, where she combined direct lobbying with oversight of the association’s political action committees.
Kelley holds a B.A. in Communication and Political Science from the University of Miami. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband.
Zach is a partner in FTP’s federal government relations practice. He provides guidance to Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and government entities on legislative strategies before Congress.
Zach has constructed and executed dozens of strategies on behalf of clients on issues across tax, finance, housing, healthcare, and technology. He has secured millions of dollars in federal funding for clients, representing universities and municipalities before the Senate and House Appropriations Committees.
A partner at Cauthen, Forbes & Williams — which later became FTP — and former managing director of Cauthen and Associates in Washington, D.C., Zach’s experience in Democratic politics began with his work with the Alabama Democratic Party in the 1996 statewide coordinated campaign. He coordinated logistics for credentials at the 2000 and 2004 Democratic National Conventions, helped lead grassroots efforts in Pennsylvania for Gore–Lieberman 2000 and Lieberman for Senate 2006, and served as a top advisor in then–Lt. Governor Lucy Baxley’s 2006 campaign for Governor of Alabama.
A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Zach received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Foreign Languages and also studied business law at the L’Ecole Supérieure du Commerce Extérieur in Paris, France. Zach and his wife are natives of Alabama and have two children.
Ryan Welch is a partner in FTP’s federal government relations practice. He leads FTP’s appropriations work, working closely with clients across agriculture, transportation, research and development, technology and innovation, energy, natural resources, law enforcement, and homeland security. Ryan brings unparalleled expertise on issues related to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Prior to joining the firm, Ryan served on the staff of retired U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), former chairman of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, Intelligence, and Rules Committees. From January 2002 to September 2007, he served as a legislative correspondent, legislative assistant, and legislative director for Senator Shelby. During Ryan’s time in the Senate, he covered a broad portfolio of issues, including agriculture, commerce, energy, environment, education, trade, waterways, law enforcement, homeland security, NASA, FEMA, transportation, science, and natural resources.
As a legislative assistant, Ryan served as the primary staffer on all domestic appropriations issues, which required the evaluation of projects being considered for inclusion in Senator Shelby’s priority list. He has also worked closely with both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Senate leadership during the development of key energy legislation, including the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.
Ryan has been active in the Republican Party and various campaigns at the state and national levels since college. Since 2010, he has served as part of a leadership team of a highly successful volunteer driven Get Out the Vote (GOTV) effort in the state of Ohio. A longtime volunteer and member of the Planning Committee for the YMCA Youth Conference on National Affairs, Ryan is a native of Wetumpka, Alabama, and a graduate of Auburn University, where he studied political science.
Claire is a director on the research and policy analysis team. She provides strategic policy research and analysis across a broad portfolio that includes healthcare, trade, emerging technology, and energy, supporting the firm’s government relations practice by evaluating federal legislation, regulatory developments, and stakeholder landscapes and translating complex policy issues into actionable recommendations for clients.
In addition to producing policy memos and original qualitative research, Claire launched and authors FTP’s biweekly newsletter on U.S.–China relations and has led efforts to enhance the firm’s research offerings. Prior to joining FTP, she worked as a regulatory compliance consultant at an international outsourced financial services firm, where she helped develop and test compliance programs for investment advisory firms. She also served as an intern for the reelection campaign of Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), contributing to fundraising and outreach efforts. Claire holds a B.A. in Public Policy from the University of Michigan and is originally from San Diego, California.
Barrett is a partner in FTP’s federal government relations practice who specializes in building public policy campaigns for life sciences corporations launching new products or service lines. Drawing on 20 years of experience in health policy and market access, he advocates on legislative issues before Congress and on regulatory matters before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and other agencies, as well as state governor offices.
Barrett’s work spans chronic and infectious diseases, oncology, innovative diagnostics and medical devices, niche and orphan therapeutics, and value‑based business models and commercial market management. He helps clients anticipate and shape policy debates that affect reimbursement, coverage, and commercialization pathways for cutting‑edge therapies and technologies.
He began his career on Capitol Hill, serving as a health care legislative assistant for Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Representative Charlie Norwood (R-GA). Barrett received his B.A. in Government and B.A. in Classical Archaeology from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a licensed attorney and lives in McLean, Virginia.
Jeff Strunk is a Partner in FTP’s Government Relations Practice. Jeff works with Fortune 500 companies, trade organizations, and coalitions, representing client interests on a range of legislative and regulatory issues and bringing particular expertise in financial products and services, banking, energy, telecommunications, tax, and cybersecurity.
Before joining the firm in 2013, Jeff spent eight years on Capitol Hill, including six years with House Republican Leadership, most recently serving as deputy floor director to former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH). During his time in House Leadership, Mr. Strunk formed incredibly strong relationships with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. He developed expertise in parliamentary procedure, House Rules, and a thorough understanding of the inner workings of House Leadership and Congress. These roots connect him to a wide variety of House Committees. He frequently works with members of the House Ways and Means, Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. Jeff also maintains deep ties to both the House Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees.
Prior to serving as deputy floor director to former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), Jeff spent three years as floor assistant. Earlier, he worked for former Congressman Patrick J. Tiberi (R-OH), a previous Chairman of the influential Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.
Jeff has long been active in the Republican Party, both in Ohio and at the national level. He has worked on numerous campaigns including that of his former boss Patrick J. Tiberi (R-OH). He continues to lead an organized volunteer campaign effort in his home state of Ohio. For more than six years, he has led an independent GOTV program in the Buckeye State that helps to provide grassroots support to Republican candidates at the local, state, and federal levels. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Strunk is a graduate of Xavier University, where he received his B.S. in Political Science. He and his wife and three children live in Washington, D.C.
Tori is a senior vice president in FTP’s federal government relations practice. She helps clients navigate significant trade policy exposure, including Section 232 and 301 investigations, domestic content and de minimis rules, and the trade agreements that govern global commerce. For manufacturers, importers, and exporters exposed to tariffs and trade actions, she builds strategies tailored to each client’s manufacturing footprint and political reach, identifying champions who will carry a company’s case.
She orchestrates strategies that engage Republican congressional leaders and members of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees, as well as decision makers at USTR, Commerce, Treasury, and the White House to move outcomes in her clients’ favor. One of the country’s leading conservative experts on trade, Tori spent nearly a decade at the Heritage Foundation, where she rose to lead its trade policy work as the Jay Van Andel trade economist, before directing international economic policy at the American Action Forum.
She has published extensively on tariffs, Buy American laws, and the economic impact of trade barriers on American businesses and consumers. Tori took her expertise to Capitol Hill as a tax and trade advisor to Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) of the Senate Finance Committee, drafting tax legislation and helping shape the senator’s positions across the committee’s trade and tax jurisdiction. She authors “Trade Winds,” FTP’s guide to the fast-moving trade landscape, and is a frequent television commentator and widely published author.
Tori works alongside the firm’s national security and regional practices on trade exposure facing clients across borders, including the USMCA review that will shape the future of North American trade and national security. A native Michigander who began her career as a legislative aide in the Michigan House of Representatives, she holds a B.A. in International Relations from Michigan State University and an M.A. in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University.
Ed advises clients across the pharmaceutical, biotech, gene therapy, and diagnostics sectors, helping them navigate the policy and regulatory landscapes that shape how new drugs and devices reach the market. Across a career in both government and the private sector, Ed has built particular depth in rare disease, addiction, neuromuscular conditions, and aesthetic medicine, working with organizations at every level to support drug development and commercialization.
Before joining FTP, Ed spent years leading policy and lobbying efforts in-house for life sciences companies, including serving as Chief Government Affairs Officer at Allergan (now AbbVie). His responsibilities reached beyond government affairs into corporate strategy and management, communications, product development, sales, mergers and acquisitions, and patient and customer advocacy. Along the way, he has helped bring to market and support some of the industry’s most recognized products, including Botox, Juvéderm, Latisse, Natrelle implants, Narcan, Opvee, ELEVIDYS, EXONDYS, and XDEMVY. Earlier in his career, Ed served in the U.S. Senate and in the Office of the Governor of California.
Rick Murphy is a partner in FTP’s federal government relations practice and leads the firm’s Republican advocacy. He works at the center of Senate Republican politics, with deep relationships in Republican leadership and across the conferences, committees, and federal agencies where policy is decided. A former Senate chief of staff, he guides Fortune 500 companies, investors, and trade associations across energy and utilities, technology and telecom, transportation and aviation, aerospace and defense, financial services, and consumer goods. Clients rely on Rick for direct access to the Republican leaders and members who decide outcomes in the U.S. Senate.
As chief of staff to Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Rick ran a 40-person operation and directed the senator’s legislative and political agendas in daily coordination with Republican leadership. He is a prolific fundraiser for Republican candidates and the statewide campaigns that decide the majority. In a chamber that still runs on personal relationships, Rick’s run a generation deep.
Rick began his career on Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) 1992 Senate campaign, serving as chief field operative and building a statewide operation county by county before following Gregg to Washington for his first stint in the U.S. Senate. Before returning to the Senate with Senator Ayotte, he spent 15 years running his own federal lobbying firm, R.B. Murphy & Associates, where he represented Fortune 50 companies including Google and Altria, major trade associations, and the nation’s leading scientific organizations. A native of Middlebury, Connecticut, Rick holds a bachelor’s degree from New England College in New Hampshire.
