Faegre Drinker Consulting Strengthens Team With Former Capitol Hill Legislative Director Ryan Shay
Faegre Drinker announced today that Ryan Shay has joined the firm as director with Faegre Drinker Consulting in the Washington, D.C. office. Prior to joining the firm, Shay worked on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Director for U.S. Representative Susie Lee (NV-03) after a long career in both the Senate and House.
Shay is a Capitol Hill veteran with the policy experience, political insight, and relationships in the legislative and executive branches to advance clients’ legislative and regulatory goals. For more than seven years, he served on active legislative teams in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, including members of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees. While working on Capitol Hill, Shay successfully led efforts to enact multiple legislative provisions into federal law to improve national health care policies.
“With years of experience on Capitol Hill and an impressive résumé of policy development accomplishments, Ryan is a great addition to our team,” said Nick Manetto, leader of the firm’s federal policy, advocacy & consulting team. “His track record of securing concrete results to help advance healthcare policies make him an excellent resource to our clients across the board.”
As the Legislative Director for Congresswoman Lee, Shay led efforts to advance the Congresswoman’s health policy objectives and appropriations goals, including the introduction and advocacy of the MOBILE Health Care Act (H.R. 5141), Senior SAVE Act (H.R. 3831), and Virtual Peer Support Act (H.R. 2929). Additionally, he served as Associate Staff on the House Appropriations Committee and directed the Congresswoman’s health appropriations priorities by securing critical programmatic and report language wins. Furthermore, Shay directed the legislative strategy for a 20-person Member office and managed the relevant policy portfolios during the debates on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Build Back Better Act.
Shay also served as Congressman André Carson’s (IN-07) sole health policy advisor during the COVID-19 pandemic and advised the Congressman on all aspects of the crisis. This expertise included epidemiological analysis, public health responses, provider relief payments, and guidance on legislative strategy as Congress drafted and passed unprecedented COVID-19 relief packages, including the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan.
A native Washingtonian, Shay also served as a Legislative Aide for Senator Maria Cantwell, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance, and helped provide policy expertise on Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drugs and other issues relating to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Shay earned his Bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Western Washington University and his Master’s degree from Villanova University.
Faegre Drinker Consulting team members provide advisory and advocacy services at the intersection of government and the private sector at both the federal and state levels. Consultants serve clients in key industries such as health and biosciences, energy and environment, economic development, financial services, food and agribusiness, media and technology, and technology and privacy — impacting public policy, regulation and procurement to grow businesses and serve missions.
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