If you are interested in a full-time, challenging, entry-level position, and are willing to learn and grow, this job is right for you. We offer competitive salary and excellent benefits. Please send resume by May 18 to:

Gia Biden
KSE Partners, LLP
resumes@ksefocus.com
Please – no phone calls.
EOE

For Immediate Release
April 5, 2012

Leif Johnson Appointed Managing Director of The Advocacy Group

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Robert Tennessen, chairman of The Advocacy Group (TAG), the world’s leading international association of government and public affairs professionals, announced today that Leif Johnson of Alexandria, Virginia has been named managing director and CEO. He will replace David McCloud who is retiring after 10 years as head of the Washington, D.C. area-based trade association.

Tennessen, a Minnesota attorney and lobbyist, thanked McCloud for his decade of service and said Johnson’s selection signaled an “exciting new direction” for an organization that “now has a global reach.” Tennessen explained: “TAG has grown exponentially in recent years. In addition to the leading political and policy shops in the 50 states, the TAG membership now includes firms in Canada, the European Union, and the Pacific Rim.” He added: “Our clients include Fortune 100 companies, national trade associations and major not-for-profit groups. Collectively our members develop and implement public policies and solve problems for clients from Boston to Brussels, Lansing to London and Atlanta to Amsterdam.”

Johnson currently serves as vice president of KSE FOCUS, a 50-state legislative and regulatory tracking and strategic communications firm with offices in D.C., Boston and Vermont. Before joining KSE, Johnson was the director of government relations and corporate communications for West Publishing – Thomson Reuters in Eagan, Minnesota and public relations manager at Cisco Systems in San Jose, California. He worked on Capitol Hill for U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana. He has also served as president of the Washington Area State Relations Group (WASRG), a D.C. trade association of government affairs executives.

Tennessen noted: “Leif Johnson is the perfect choice to manage the TAG network. He has worked with our members for years and understands the organization, the issues and the market for our services. TAG has developed an ambitious strategic plan for the next decade and Leif has the vision, the drive and the skill to help us implement it.”

Johnson said: “TAG member firms are recognized in their markets as the best in the business. I see a great opportunity to build the TAG brand by leveraging the excellence and professionalism within TAG member firms. The TAG brand will be the gold standard in the international and 50-state government affairs arena.”

McCloud announced his retirement to the TAG membership at its annual meeting in Florida last November. Tennessen described McCloud as a “dedicated professional who brought fiscal stability and growth to TAG during his ten-year tenure. David skillfully managed TAG in the difficult years when the economy tanked and the nation fell into a recession. David’s performance during that period was remarkable.” McCloud will continue to work as a public policy consultant in Richmond, Virginia and remain a member of TAG.

Johnson will remain a KSE employee with a contract to work as TAG’s managing director and CEO.

About The Advocacy Group:

Established in 1992, The Advocacy Group, Inc. (TAG) was the first international public affairs and government relations corporation to provide a diverse array of professional advocacy services throughout the world. TAG is an inter-firm network of independent companies organized as a team and focused on solving public affairs and government relations issues. TAG offers businesses and organizations skilled and reputable advice and advocacy on international, federal, state or local legislative, regulatory or political matters. The responsiveness and flexibility within TAG offers a competitive edge to companies utilizing the network.

TAG is a creative solution for businesses needing a presence in single or multiple jurisdictions, providing local expertise along with the synergy of its worldwide network. The TAG network brings together a team of skilled and experienced practitioners and harnesses their intellectual resources to provide professional, customized service. TAG has completed hundreds of projects and created a network of relationships that expand our reach and capability. TAG works with firms in all fifty states, Washington, D.C. and six countries. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
Contact:
Leif Johnson
202-580-6534

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Goddard College Unveils the Life Work of 101-Year-Old Japanese Artist
Hideichi Oshiro’s “Art and Breath” Collection Premieres

Plainfield, Vt. — On Wednesday, February 8th, Goddard College will unveil the impressive exhibit, “Art and Breath: The Life Work of Hideichi Oshiro,” the artistic creation of the 101-year-old Japanese artist, writer and philosopher.

Late last year, Oshiro donated his life’s work to the Goddard College Art Collection, fulfilling his lifelong dream that his work be housed in an educational institution so that future generations of students can learn from it.

“We are honored to display such an incredible collection of work,” said Goddard College President Barbara Vacarr. “The beauty of Hide’s work will inspire students in their academic pursuits here at Goddard.”

The collection focuses on the process of creating art and will serve as a learning opportunity for Goddard students earning a Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts. Ninety full-time students will be on campus Feb. 3-10 for the residency component of Goddard’s low-residency program. The residency is one week of intensive on-campus study and collaboration with faculty and fellow students.

The collection draws from the many paintings, drawings, calligraphies, prints, handmade books, poems, haiku, stories, sketches and scrolls created by Oshiro over the past 60 years. It is the most comprehensive treatment of the artist’s work ever presented.

The “Art and Breath” collection provides a glimpse into Oshiro’s vision of the magnificence of this universe.

“Our minds are like a pond in which we are able to conceive any form, from the largest to the smallest, from a galaxy to an atom, from the blue sky to a minnow,” Oshiro says of his work.

The opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Wednesday, February 8th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Pratt Library Art Gallery, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Rd., Plainfield, Vt. The reception is free and open to the public. It will provide an opportunity to meet Oshiro and hear special presentations in celebration of his work.

For more information: www.goddard.edu/hide_oshiro

About Goddard College

Goddard College was chartered in 1938 at its Plainfield, Vermont campus by founding President Royce “Tim” Pitkin. In 1963, Goddard became the first U.S. college to offer adult-degree programs, and now specializes in MA, MFA, BA and BFA low-residency education. Offering accredited degree programs from campuses in Plainfield, Vermont and Port Townsend, Washington, Goddard’s low-residency format offers the best of on-campus and distance education, with experienced faculty advisors, rigorous on-campus residencies, and the freedom to study from anywhere. www.goddard.edu

Contact
Kevin Ellis
kevin@ksepartners.com

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Former Dartmouth College Dean Joins Goddard College Board
Dr. John Hennessey Elected to Board of Trustees

Plainfield, Vt. — Dr. John W. Hennessey Jr., Third Century Professor Emeritus at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, has been named the newest member of the Board of Trustees at Goddard College.

Dr. Hennessey’s nomination to serve on the Board was approved unanimously at a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees.

“We are honored to welcome Dr. Hennessey to the Board,” said Barbara Vacarr, president of Goddard College. “His vision about education and democracy is aligned well with Goddard’s vision and mission. Dr. Hennessey understands deeply the current need for higher education to assume a leadership role in our country.”

Dr. Hennessey has dedicated his professional life to improving the quality of higher education. He served as Associate Dean and then Dean at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College from 1962 to 1976.

He co-founded Dartmouth’s Ethics Institute in 1981 and taught business ethics to undergraduates and MBA students until 1987. Dr. Hennessey also served for three years as the first Provost of the University of Vermont and as Interim President in 1990.

Hennessey has served on more than 30 boards of non-profit and corporate entities, often as chair. Notably, he is a former trustee and trustee emeritus of Vermont Law School, and has served as board chair of the Educational Testing Service, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and Kendal at Hanover, a continuing care retirement community. He now sits on the boards of Americans for Campaign Reform, Patient Choices-Vermont, and Goddard College.

“I am looking forward to serving Goddard,’’ said Hennessey. “Dr. Vacarr and the Board clearly have the college pointed in a new and exciting direction, and this is a promising time for trustees to carry out their special governance responsibilities.

Hennessey served as first lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II, taking leave from his undergraduate studies at Princeton University to volunteer for service in 1943. He returned to Princeton after the war and graduated in 1948, and later earned his MBA from Harvard University in 1950 and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1956.

Dr. Hennessey is married to Madeleine May Kunin, former Governor of Vermont, Deputy Secretary of Education and Ambassador to Switzerland during the Clinton administration. The couple resides in Burlington, Vermont.

For more information: www.jhennessey.org

About Goddard College

Goddard College was chartered in 1938 at its Plainfield, Vermont campus by founding President Royce “Tim” Pitkin. In 1963, Goddard became the first American college to offer adult-degree programs, and now specializes in MA, MFA, BA and BFA low-residency education. Offering accredited degree programs from campuses in Plainfield, Vermont and Port Townsend, Washington, Goddard’s low-residency format offers the best of on-campus and distance education, with experienced faculty advisors, rigorous on-campus residencies, and the freedom to study from anywhere. For more information, visit www.goddard.edu.

Contact

Kevin Ellis
KSE Partners, LLP
kevin@ksepartners.com

###

“Todd Bailey has been a fixture at the Statehouse for years — first as executive director of the Vermont League of Conservation Voters and now as a lobbyist for the Dem-friendly firm KSE Partners. Come January, Bailey will take on a new role as treasurer of a new “Super PAC” named Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Today, part of a new branch of KSE Campaigns. The PAC name is a reference to Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC Americans For a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, but the purpose is dead serious.”

http://www.7dvt.com/2011vermont-politicos-watch-2012

“The core lesson from the historic campaign in Vermont is that the great advantage that the gay and lesbian community and their allies have is that they are real,” Ellis says. “That campaign in Vermont was the most authentic political effort I’ve ever been a part of because people were doing it for all the right reasons. They weren’t making money and they were doing it because it was something they truly believed in. In the end, that is what sways skeptics.”

Read the rest at the Times Argus: http://www.timesargus.com/article/20110726/NEWS02/707269950

Read the full story here: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/07/25/general-vt-health-care-lobbying_8582879.html

groSolar Expands Solar Distribution and Commercial Business
Sells Residential Division to SolarCity

White River Junction, Vt. – groSolar today announced the expansion of its solar distribution and large-scale commercial business, positioning the company for future growth. To facilitate this, groSolar announced today that it has sold its residential division to SolarCity, the nation’s largest residential solar service provider.

“This transaction allows us to concentrate fully on our distribution and commercial businesses, which are the fastest growing solar markets,” said Jeff Wolfe, CEO, groSolar. “It allows us to target, expand and move our distribution and commercial solar businesses to the next level. It’s a very exciting time for the company and our customers.”

groSolar’s distribution channel has seen tremendous growth. A strengthened focus on inventory, quality technology from manufacturers, and market development will allow groSolar to continue as a leading nationwide, full-service solar distributor. groSolar has added sales and customer service staff to its distribution team and will continue to enhance its services.

groSolar’s commercial division has received contracts for multiple large-scale commercial projects in 2011. In the coming weeks, groSolar will commission its largest commercial installation to date, at Clean Harbors landfill in New Jersey. The 1.5 megawatt installation, which will sit on top of a capped landfill, will power equipment used to decontaminate groundwater and offset 90% of the facility’s annual electric bill. The commercial team will hire more personnel to support the new growth.
SolarCity will take over all support and maintenance services to groSolar’s existing and contracted residential customers immediately.

“We are extremely proud of the industry leadership demonstrated by groSolar over the past decade of experience. We look forward to an increased focus on our existing distribution and commercial channels, while we are also pleased that most of our skilled residential division personnel will continue this important work, now for SolarCity,” said Wolfe. “We share the mission of affordable solar for all and we’re certain that our residential channel could not be in better hands. Furthermore, our distribution and commercial divisions will be stronger than ever.”

About groSolar
groSolar is North America’s premier provider of solar energy solutions for commercial and residential applications. groSolar serves the 1-30 MW commercial markets with complete EPC, financing, and development options, while serving the residential markets exclusively through our nationwide dealer network value added distribution services. Founded in 1998, groSolar brings leading knowledge to the industry and integrates components from leading solar manufacturers into simple solar energy solutions, which generate clean, reliable energy for decades. groSolar is a mission-driven company dedicated to providing high quality solar energy systems and financial solutions. Learn more at groSolar.com or call 800.374.4494.

Bassist and vocalist Nick Sherman is part of the KSE lobbying team.

Drummer and cover artist Jeremiah Johnson is an analyst for KSE FOCUS.

Click here for a review: http://7dvt.com/2010torpedo-rodeo-vs-sharktopus

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