TED Community » Mark Wills

About Me

Public Policy
* Act as an ad hoc "clearinghouse" for state components on specific public policy issues, including (but not limited to) architectural licensure, professional service taxes, and building codes (American Institute of Architects)
* Identified, tracked, reviewed, and researched federal and state legislation and regulations on various issues (e.g., architectural licensure, building codes, immigration, property and casualty insurance, environment, energy, agriculture (American Institute of Architects, NumbersUSA, American Insurance Association, Stateside Associates)
* Formulated directives activating organization's grassroots membership (NumbersUSA)
* Collaborated with association counsel to compile and synthesize information regarding state laws and rules on various insurance-related issues into 50-state "surveys" (American Insurance Association)
* Examined activities of various national and regional associations of governmental officials to identify policy trends (Stateside Associates)
* Researched and generated informational materials relative to state elections (Stateside Associates)

Communications
* Act as primary editor of a biweekly online newsletter aimed at government advocacy-minded members of a national association (American Institute of Architects)
* Serve as primary contact for a national association's State Government Network and, in that capacity, disseminate information to component members and executives and manage the Network's online communications system (American Institute of Architects)
* Communicate with another sector of a national association's membership through use of social media – in particular, Twitter – to convey the association's public policy positions and messaging (American Institute of Architects)
* Initiated, moderated, and followed up on executive-level communications with consulting firm's clientèle (more than 100 clients [including, but not limited to trade associations, corporations, nonprofits, lobbying firms, and state agencies]) and potential client contacts (StateScape)
* Composed, revised, and edited contracts, proposals for services, and other marketing materials (StateScape)
* Demonstrated web-based interface for prospective clients and trained existing client users on effective use of legislative and regulatory tracking services – both in person and over the telephone (StateScape)
* Secured service agreements with approximately 25 percent of current client base (StateScape)
* Prepared and maintained written materials:
- summarizing state or federal legislation on a variety of issues (e.g., immigration, insurance, environment);
- forecasting its prospects for enactment; and/or
- encouraging lawmakers and grassroots members to adopt a particular stance on it (NumbersUSA, American Insurance Association, Stateside Associates)
* Acted as liaison between interested parties (e.g., constituents, lobbyists, grassroots members, related organizations, clients, member companies, potential clients/buyers, Congressional staffers) and employers/employees (StateScape, NumbersUSA, American Insurance Association, Stateside Associates, Minnesota House of Representatives, Jones Act Reform Coalition, QuikPages)
* Enhanced content for legislative and "action" pages of organization's website (NumbersUSA)
* Edited and modified association publications (American Insurance Association)
* Initiated and cultivated relationships with contacts:
- "on the ground" in states in order to best gauge outlook for legislation and other political events (e.g., elections, fiscal developments); and
- within client companies, associations, and organizations through frequent communications to keep them abreast of pertinent political developments (Stateside Associates)
* Directed efforts – and trained employees on day-to-day work necessary – to compile and edit legislative reports for more than 30 corporate and association clients (Stateside Associates)
* Authored correspondence in response to hundreds of constituent concerns (Minnesota House of Representatives)
* Wrote and revised press releases for widespread dissemination (Jones Act Reform Coalition)
* Discussed, sold to, and designed web pages for small- and medium-sized businesses (QuikPages)
--Published work: What's On The Plate: Biotechnology In The States, METROPOLITAN CORPORATE COUNSEL, January 2001, at 38

Other Experience Skills
* Oversaw reorganization of processes for maintaining client- and prospective client-related contact and contractual data – both hard and soft copy (StateScape)
* Streamlined and updated organization's database of relevant articles and other files (Jones Act Reform Coalition)
* Overhauled and re-branded organization's website (Jones Act Reform Coalition)
* Utilized basic knowledge of HTML coding, as well as company's proprietary database/web design application, to create web pages for small- and medium-sized businesses (QuikPages)