Barry W Scanlon

Mr. Barry Scanlon is President at James Lee Witt Associates (JLWA) and counsels clients on public safety and emergency management issues. Mr. Scanlon started at FEMA with the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, where he represented the Administration in the wake of natural disasters, and advised and traveled with FEMA Director Witt, as well as Senators, Members of Congress, and state and local officials. He assisted officials with media relations, constituent services, strategy, and all areas of Response and Recovery Operations, and provided strategic advice on crisis communications to the Director. Mr. Scanlon represented the Director both within the Administration and on Capitol Hill on all matters relating to the Natural Disaster Protection Act and legislation dealing with the funding and impact of natural disasters. His efforts produced outstanding relations with Members of Congress and resulted in increased appropriations. Mr. Scanlon's congressional experience includes serving as Congressional Advisor for Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy II, Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, Subcommittee on Consumer Credit and Insurance. In this capacity he advised the Chairman on issues including flood insurance, all areas of disaster insurance and emergency management, consumer and fair lending laws, credit cards, community reinvestment, and insurance. He drafted and negotiated through the Banking Committee, House, and Senate conference the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, which was signed into law by President Clinton. Mr. Scanlon represented Chairman Kennedy before interests such as emergency management, insurance, banking, and credit industries, as well as various community and grassroots organizations. In addition, Mr. Scanlon has held positions in Democratic politics including the Clinton/Gore 1996 Presidential Campaign, the Robb for Senate Committee, re-election efforts for U.S. Representative Joseph Kennedy and other Get-Out-The-Vote efforts. He graduated from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.