Building America’s Future Announces New Hire

Kerry O’Hare to serve as Senior Policy Advisor for bipartisan and national infrastructure coalition 

Washington, DC – Building America’s Future (www.BAFuture.org) today announced that Kerry O’Hare has joined the infrastructure coalition as senior policy advisor.  O’Hare’s duties will include policy development and implementation, recruitment, coalition building and raising awareness on Capitol Hill. 

“It’s my pleasure to welcome Kerry to our team,” said Polly Trottenberg, executive director of Building America’s Future.  “She brings a wealth of national experience in infrastructure, transportation and federal government, as well as a proven track record in building teams and effective coalitions to achieve policy goals.” 

Ms. O’Hare brings more than 23 years of expertise in policy development and implementation, management, Congressional, state and local governmental relations, coalition building and issue advocacy. She most recently served as Deputy Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), where she provided executive leadership to an agency with more than 2,500 employees and an annual budget of $40 million. 

Prior to working for the FHWA, Ms. O’Hare served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).  While at DOT, O’Hare was part of a select team that implemented the Secretary’s National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America’s Transportation Network.  This team worked to educate state and local leaders as well as the business community in targeted states about how to develop public-private partnerships and innovative ways to address traffic congestion.  Prior, Ms. O’Hare served as Deputy Director in the Office of Federal Affairs for Governor George Pataki (R-NY), Legislative Director for Congressman Peter King (R-NY), and Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY). 

Other Building America’s Future staff includes: 

Executive director - Polly Trottenberg 

Prior to joining BAF, Trottenberg worked in the United States Senate for 12 years, most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for California Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Trottenberg also served as Legislative Director for New York Senator Charles Schumer and as Legislative Assistant to New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. She has worked extensively on transportation, public works, energy and environmental issues during her congressional career. Before starting her career on Capitol Hill, Trottenberg worked at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Massachusetts State Senate, and the Massachusetts Port Authority.   

Policy Assistant - Kenney Elkomous

As a Policy Assistant at BAF, Kenney Elkomous has supported the organization’s congressional relations, membership and media efforts.  Prior to joining BAF, he interned at the DC office of Senator Barbara Boxer.  Elkomous first came to Washington, DC in 2006, where he served as a Program Assistant at the United Nations Association.  There, he actively recruited grassroots membership and lobbied Members of Congress and their staff for increases in the State-Foreign Operations budget and for a renewed US commitment to the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals.   

Membership - David Yarkin 

David Yarkin has spent more than a decade working in state and local government, most recently as the Deputy Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of General Services, under Governor Edward G. Rendell.  Yarkin ran many of the business operations of state government, including procurement where his team saved more than $140 million on an annualized basis by introducing private sector best practices to government.  Earlier in his career, he served as Press Secretary to then-Philadelphia Mayor Rendell and coordinated a number of intergovernmental initiatives.  In this role, he was the Mayor’s point person in working with the Rebuild America Coalition, a non-profit organization representing 70 different advocacy organizations, focused on increasing federal investment in infrastructure.  Yarkin is also a columnist with Government Procurement Journal, the leading trade journal for public sector procurement professionals. 

Press Secretary - Laura Braden 

Laura Braden serves as Vice President of Mercury Public Affairs and has extensive experience in public affairs and strategic communications.  From 2006-2008, Braden served as Deputy Communications Director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, where she executed earned media and surrogate programs on issues like energy, climate change, infrastructure, economic growth and agriculture.  Braden previously served as Deputy Director of Operations and Planning for John McCain for President 2008 and the director of events for Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2006 re-election campaign.  From 2003-2006, Braden was a Senior Account Manager for the Washington, DC based public affairs firm, DCI Group.  She directed strategic communication campaigns for pharmaceutical, political, energy and education clients, and supervised state grassroots and communications consultants to supplement national earned media campaigns.  

Building America’s Future (www.BAFuture.org) is a bipartisan and national organization dedicated to bringing about a new era of U.S. investment in infrastructure that enhances our nation’s prosperity and quality of life.  Comprised of state and locally elected officials from around the nation, Building America’s Future seeks to advance a new national vision for infrastructure investment that focuses on economic growth and global competitiveness, creation of economic opportunity for all Americans, and environmental sustainability.