Laura Braden

Laura most recently served as vice president for Mercury Public Affairs from 2008-2011 where she designed and executed strategic communication campaigns for political, corporate and non-profit clients. She also spent three months in the Gulf Coast assisting BP with their oil spill response efforts, which included managing state consultants and executing stakeholder/community events and news conferences throughout Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. From 2006-2008 she served as deputy communications director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, where she executed earned media and surrogate programs on policies including: energy, climate change, infrastructure, and the economy. She was also responsible for coordinating the Governor’s entertainment and international media/events. Laura previously served as deputy director of operations and planning for Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign and the Director of Events for Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2006 successful re-election campaign. In both roles, she was responsible for the planning, management and execution of events ranging from editorial boards and interviews to news conferences and political rallies. From 2003-2006, Laura was a senior account manager for the Washington, DC-based public affairs firm, DCI Group where she directed strategic communication campaigns for pharmaceutical, political, energy and education clients. While at DCI Group, she also served as press secretary for Progress for America during the successful nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States and served as advance/press secretary for a delegation of experts and journalists to United Nations’ global warming conferences in Buenos Aires and Montreal.