The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) has hired two new staff members to join its Federal Affairs team under Vice President, Head of Federal Affairs and Policy, Reilly O’Connor, a nine-year veteran of the association.
Ashley Lantz is now Director, Federal Affairs and Arielle Broussard is Coordinator, Federal Affairs.
Lantz joined WSWA from the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association where she led federal affairs and public policy, and supported state-level advocacy for a network of 949 programs in 49 states. She began her career on Capitol Hill where she worked on the staff of Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.V.) and later for Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) Lantz holds a graduate degree from West Virginia University.
Broussard joined WSWA from the American Medical Association where she worked as a staff assistant on the advocacy team. She supported political and legislative grassroots operations, political education and supported fundraising operations for the association’s political action committee. She previously worked as Field Manager for the Michigan Republican Party and on a U.S. Senate campaign in Alaska in addition to several internships with elected officials. Broussard is a 2013 graduate of Rhodes College.
“WSWA’s leadership has set ambitious goals for the association to promote the modern three-tier system with family-owned wholesalers as the central tier. These new hires add important skills and capabilities to the WSWA team which will enable us to provide a high level of service to our members and further represent their interests in the nation’s capital,” said WSWA President and CEO Craig Wolf.
WSWA is the national trade association representing the wholesaler tier of the wine and spirits industry, dedicated to advancing the interests and independence of wholesalers. Founded in 1943, WSWA has 379 member companies in 50 states and the District of Columbia and its members distribute more than 80 percent of all wine and spirits sold at wholesale in the United States. More information is available at www.wswa.org.
Click here to read an earlier WSWA news release about the Government Affairs team reorganization; click here to read an earlier release about WSWA’s newly-promoted head lobbyist.