About John
With seventeen years of experience in Minnesota’s public and private sectors, John is an outcomes-driven advocate for his client’s interests with Minnesota state legislators and regulators. John offers sound, quality representation to clients in a variety of industries, including health care, insurance, banking, general business regulation, energy, gaming, and telecom, that takes advantage of strategic thinking to efficiently use time and political capital.
Prior to joining Cozen O’Connor, John was the director of government relations in the Minneapolis office of a law firm with an active regulatory and government relations practice. Before his time in the private sector, John was instrumental in establishing Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace, MNsure. As the Public Relations Officer, John led the lobbying effort to pass landmark legislation to establish the marketplace, led and managed the public relations efforts, and conducted stakeholder outreach and engagement. As the director of government relations, he was the agency’s chief lobbyist with the Minnesota Legislature, managing strategy related to all legislative matters and identifying and engaging key stakeholders to build business partnerships.
John also served as the director of government affairs with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which regulates the state’s insurance, securities, banking, and utility industries, among others. As the department’s chief lobbyist, John provided counsel to the commissioner on all legislative matters. He began his career working with the Minnesota House of Representatives, first as a legislative assistant and later as a committee administrator.
John earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science and German studies from the University of Minnesota. In his spare time, John enjoys spending quality time with his family in St. Paul, playing music and ice hockey.