Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies (CPS) announced that Jessica I. Monahan — a transportation policy expert who has secured federal funding for a range of nonprofits, local governments, Fortune 100 companies, emerging businesses, and government contractors — has joined its Washington D.C.-based lobbying team as a senior principal.
Tamara is a trusted strategist and advisor who leads the firm’s strategic communications practice leveraging two decades of diverse experience to counsel clients navigating complex issues, public policy challenges, litigation, and media scrutiny.
Before joining Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, Tamara was the senior vice president of a public affairs firm in Washington, D.C., crafting multi-faceted communications, reputation, and crisis mitigation strategies across various industries.
Previously, Tamara founded a boutique public relations firm and represented a number of agriculture-focused trade associations and a farm group coalition. Her efforts to drive attention to farm and trade policy issues in the lead up to the reauthorization of the 2018 Farm Bill was recognized by Politico who described her as “among the most vocal of farm bill boosters” and was instrumental in raising the coalition’s public profile.
Before launching her own firm, Tamara served as the communications director for the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Rep. Frank Lucas, and his predecessor, Rep. Bob Goodlatte. In this role, she executed the communications strategy to help steer the reauthorization of the 2014 Farm Bill and managed messaging campaigns to support committee efforts.
She joined the committee after working as a broadcast reporter for WVIR-NBC29 in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she covered important national stories, including the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007 and the fifth anniversary of 9/11 in New York City.
Tamara served in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan after graduating from the University of Mary Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and history.
April 2, 2024