Constance "Connie" Campanella
Constance Campanella is a 1973 graduate of West
Babylon High School. She
later graduated from Adelphi University with a degree in Speech
Arts. While entering
Adelphi on a full scholarship to study Speech Pathology and
Audiology, Connie's long held fascination with politics and public
policy found purpose in a campus organization she eventually led as
its Chair.
In 1976, Connie was honored to serve as New
York State Youth for Reagan Chair and led a caravan of college
students to Kansas City for the Republican National Convention.
Early that year, while interning for U. S. Senator James
Buckley, she was invited to deliver a re-nomination speech for the
Senator, on behalf of the youth of New York State, at Town Hall in
New York City. Joining her on stage was the late Congressman Jack
Kemp (R-Buffalo), a free-market icon who invited her on-the-spot to
interview for his Washington, D.C. staff , an invitation she
accepted in 1977, shortly after moving to Virginia.
In 1978, Connie left Capitol Hill to work for a
national, bipartisan association of state legislators. Sharing
responsibility for fundraising, membership development and events
management, she also had the· opportunity to testify before the U.
S. Senate and to lead a national public policy campaign impacting
state authority under the U. S. Constitution.
She then moved to the Reagan Administration in
1981, then back to Capitol Hill as Chief Legislative Assistant for
Oklahoma Congressman Mickey Edwards (R) and then back to the Reagan
Administration as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of
Transportation in 1982. In
1984, she was offered the opportunity to return to the state
legislator association as its Executive Director.
Among her achievements as
Executive Director,
Connie initiated the creation of a national organization of free
market-oriented state think tanks and served as its first President.
The organization remains in existence today.
In 1988, Connie accepted the opportunity to
work as a state government relations consultant to RJR Nabisco.
Setting up shop in a spare bedroom of her apartment, Connie
discovered that a national policy-focused approach to state
government relations was in demand. Soon, RJR Nabisco was joined by
General Electric, Philip Morris, Dow, 3M, Rent a Center and other
clients.
Today, 27+ years later, Stateside Associates is
the largest state and local government relations consulting firm.
With a staff of over 5O in service to 140 corporate, association and
U. S. government clients, Connie now holds the title, Chairman
Emeritus as she works toward retirement in December, 2015. While
Stateside Associates has been successful in many respects, Connie is
most proud of the fact that over a dozen employees of the firm have
moved on in their careers to become clients.
Connie's professional leadership credentials
include membership on the Boards of Directors of the Public Affairs
Council and the Washington Area State Relationship Group.
In 2006, Connie served as an
Adjunct Professor for the George Washington University Graduate
Program in Political Management, teaching a course about State
Government Relations.
Throughout her career she has been a frequent lecturer and author
about the strategies embodied in successful state and local
government relations.
When not working at Stateside, Connie has
dedicated herself to her husband Kevin, their family, their dogs and
to wild birds and other wildlife. An
avid birder, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors of New
Jersey Audubon and previously served as a Director of the American
Bird Conservancy where she co-led an initiative to reduce the
harvest of horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay in order to preserve
a critical food source for migrating shorebirds.
In 2014, Connie co-founded the Race 4 Birds
Foundation, Inc., a tax-exempt, non-profit organization dedicated to
promoting youth birding competitions as a means of encouraging young
people to become more engaged with birds, other wildlife and the
outdoors. Connie serves
as President of the Race 4 Birds Foundation.
Connie also serves her adopted home community
of Cape May Point, New Jersey as a member of the Board of Directors
of the Cape May Point Taxpayers Association and as a member of the
Civic Association.