– Former Congressman Jeff Miller to Chair New Group –

Ballard Partners, one of the top government relations firms in the United States, announces the formation of a Veterans Practice Group within the firm. The practice group will be chaired by former Congressman Jeff Miller, who previously served as Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee in the U.S. Congress. 

“Former Congressman Miller dedicated his public service career to serving veterans, and he will continue to do so in our firm’s new practice group,” said Brian Ballard, the firm’s President and Founder. “He will be joined by other partners in our firm who have distinguished public service experience addressing the needs of our nation’s veterans.” 

The firm’s new veteran affairs group will provide advocacy related to addressing veteran health care, housing, mental health and suicide prevention. 

“During my time in public service, I was dedicated to finding better ways to provide our veterans with the assistance and services they have earned,” said former Congressman Miller. “Our firm’s partners have extensive public sector experience serving veterans at both the state and federal level, and will bring that same dedication to assist veterans through our firm’s new veterans practice group.”   

Members of the firm’s new practice group include: 

Dan McFaul (Washington). McFaul spent more than 20 years on Capitol hill and worked on a broad scope of veteran affairs issues. McFaul was instrumental in the construction of a 230,00 square foot “VA Superclinic” in Florida that helped revolutionize veterans’ care and provided a blueprint for VA/DOD cooperation in health care. Dan also served as a member of the Presidential Transition Team for National Security. In this capacity, Dan worked on the Appointments Team responsible for recruiting and vetting potential appointees to the incoming Administration, specifically for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Armed Services, and the Intelligence Community.

Courtney Coppola (Tallahassee). Coppola served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Ron DeSantis, and assisted Governor DeSantis in oversight of veteran affairs. In this role, Coppola helped Governor DeSantis implement the “Governor’s Challenge” that used evidence-based practices to prevent suicide among service members. Part of this initiative included “The Fire Watch,” which mobilizes and trains community members to be vigilant to the concerns of veterans and to direct them to the support they need to prevent suicide. 

Dane Eagle (Tallahassee). As Secretary of the Department of Economic Opportunity, Eagle oversaw Employ Florida Vets and DEO’s Veterans Program, and administered the Florida Jobs for Veterans State Grant Program. Additionally, he facilitated the Florida Veterans Workforce Summit and the Veteran Incentives Awards. During his legislative tenure, he promoted and co-sponsored countless pro-veteran bills, further promoting Florida as the most veteran-friendly state in the nation.

Tola Thompson (Washington). Thompson served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Al Lawson, whose district included one of the nation’s largest veteran populations. During his time in that role, Thompson assisted Rep. Lawson in his successful effort to establish a Veterans Administration outpatient health clinic in Jacksonville. The outpatient clinic is currently under construction, and when completed, will include 185,000 square feet of space for providing health care services to our nation’s veterans.  

Joe Buscaino (Los Angeles). Buscaino served as a Councilmember on the Los Angeles City Council, and in that role he supported legislation that provided housing and mental health services to veterans, as well as incentives for veterans to be employed by the City of Los Angeles. Additionally, Buscaino successfully advocated for the construction of the first all-veteran housing project in City Council District 15. That project was done in partnership with Los Angeles County to provide wrap-around services to veterans living in those housing units.

– Buscaino, Former National League of Cities President, Named 

Managing Partner of Firm’s Los Angeles Office –

Joe Buscaino, former President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council, has joined Ballard Partners, one of the top government relations firms in the United States. Buscaino joins the firm as the Managing Partner of the firm’s recently established office in Los Angeles.

“Joe has had a distinguished career on the Los Angeles City Council for more than a decade and we are honored to have him lead our Los Angeles office,” said Brian Ballard, the firm’s President and Founder. “His expertise on issues across Los Angeles, his relationships throughout the Southern California region and his role as national municipal leader will be invaluable to our firm’s clients.”  

Buscaino has represented the Council’s 15th District since 2012. He served as the Chair of the City’s Trade, Travel and Tourism Committee. In that role he was responsible for oversight of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in the United States, LAX, the second busiest airport in the United States and the LA Tourism and Convention Board. 

In 2019, Buscaino was elected as President of the National League of Cities (NLC) which represents more than 2,000 cities, towns, and villages across the country. Since November 2020, he has served as NLC’s Past President. He is the President Emeritus of the Democratic Municipal Officials organization and served as a member of the Democratic National Committee from 2015 – 2018. Prior to his election to the City Council, Buscaino served for 15 years as a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department and currently serves as an LAPD Reserve Officer. 

“With my public service now concluded, I couldn’t be happier to join Ballard Partners and lead its Los Angeles office,” said Buscaino. “The firm’s professionals are exceptional and its reach from Tel Aviv to Washington to Miami and places between is unparalleled.”

Buscaino graduated Cum Laude, with a BA in Communication from California State University – Dominguez Hills. Joe and his wife, Geralyn, an educator in the Los Angeles Unified School District, are raising their two children in San Pedro. Their children attend Los Angeles Unified schools.

Dan McFaul has been named the Managing Partner of Ballard Partners’ Washington, D.C. office. McFaul has been a partner in the firm’s Washington office since 2017.

“Dan’s extraordinary reputation in D.C. makes him the ideal choice to lead our firm in Washington and continue our growth in the coming years,” said Brian Ballard, the firm’s President and Founder. “Our firm and its clients will be well-served by Dan’s vast experience in government affairs and on Capitol Hill.”

Dan McFaul has been involved with more than 30 federal, state, and local campaigns in the last two decades, including races for Congress, U.S. Senate, and Governor, as well as Presidential campaigns. He served as campaign manager to Congressman Joe Scarborough in 1996 and 2000. In 1998, he worked as a Senior Field Analyst for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and consulted on eight Congressional campaigns in the Southeast and Ohio River Valley.

Dan served on the staff of U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough of Florida from 1997-2001, rising to the position of Legislative Director. He became the Chief of Staff and Communications Director for Congressman Jeff Miller on Oct. 16th 2001, when Miller was sworn into office. Prior to Miller’s election, Dan was Miller’s campaign manager during the 2001 special election cycle.

Dan was a member of the Presidential Transition Team for then President-elect Donald J. Trump. In this capacity, Dan worked on the Appointments Team responsible for recruiting and vetting potential appointees to the incoming Administration, specifically for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Armed Services, and the Intelligence community.

“I want to thank Brian for this opportunity. It has been an honor to work with him and the exceptionally talented professionals at Ballard Partners. I am humbled by this new responsibility,” said McFaul.

Guests include U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar, former FEMA Director Craig Fugate, N.Y. Times Reporter Mike Bender and former U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler

Ballard Partners, one of the top government relations firms in the United States, has launched four new episodes of 13^th and Park today, featuring timely discussions on today’s most pressing topics.

•  Former FEMA Director Craig Fugateprovides lessons learned from Hurricane Ian and discusses the path forward for the US in emergency response to devastating storms.
• Ballard Partners’ own Robert Wexler gives insight into the new dynamics affecting peace in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, a newly aggressive China, and a likely nuclear Iran.
•  New York Times reporter and author Mike Bender dives into midterm elections in key states across the US.
• U.S. Representative Maria Salazar explains why Latin voters in the U.S. are having a profound impact on American politics.

The podcast is co-hosted by Ballard Partners’ Adam Goodman and Justin Sayfie. The episodes are now live and streaming on all major platforms including Apple, Spotify and Amazon.