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Smith-Free Group

Trusted. Effective. Experienced.

Bipartisan from Day One.

Who We Are

About / Our Team

With roots going back 40 years, the Smith-Free Group is the most experienced bipartisan government affairs firm in Washington, D.C. today.

Our Team

We are bipartisan strategists from the highest levels of Capitol Hill, executive agencies, and the White House.

Jon Deuser

President & CEO

Jon Deuser

Jon Deuser joined The Smith-Free Group in May, 2005. A 15-year veteran of Congress, Deuser originally came to Washington in 1987 to join the staff of his hometown mentor, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. He worked as a Personal Assistant and Legislative Aide on the McConnell staff before matriculating to the University of Virginia School of Law.

After graduating and passing the Bar, Deuser returned to Capitol Hill as a Legislative Assistant by then-Congressman Jim Bunning, spending the next 12 years working for Bunning and rising to serve as Chief of Staff. During that time, he was intimately involved in policy development, focusing on financial services, health care and tax, as well as leading the 2004 re-election campaign.

In 2020, Jon took the helm of Smith-Free as President and CEO, partnering with Bob Hickmott to take ownership of the company in early 2021.

Jon Deuser graduated cum laude with a B.A. in English and History from Indiana University in 1987, and holds his J.D. from University of Virginia Law School where he worked as Notes Editor for the Journal of Law and Politics. He currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Mary Jane and has three grown children - Kelly, Caterina and Jack.

James Free

Chairman

James Free

Jim Free serves as Chairman of The Smith-Free Group, which he co-founded in 1995. Previously, Free had been Vice-Chairman of Walker-Free Associates, a consulting firm he joined in 1981. At both firms, spanning over four decades, he has been involved in representing major global companies in such areas as energy, entertainment, copyright, communications, health care, financial services, trade, and transportation.

Free served in the Tennessee House of Representatives as Chief Clerk before coming to Washington, D.C. in 1977, to serve in the Carter White House as Special Assistant to the President for Congressional Affairs. As an advocate for President Carter's programs before Congress, he worked on transportation, trade, energy and environmental issues including passage of the Clean Air Act, the Alaska Lands Act, and national energy legislation.

Free's extensive Washington experience has been recognized with service on several boards of business, professional, and charitable institutions including the Country Music Association, Washington Center for Interns, the Branding Committee of the New York Stock Exchange, Woodrow Wilson House, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Jim Free has lectured and led discussions at the University of Georgia, Lipscomb University, The Brookings Institution, the Carter Center and at his alma mater Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), where he is also a visiting professor.

​Jim and his wife Ann, are active community members and generous supporters of the arts and humanities and other charitable organizations, including The Kennedy Center, The Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woodrow Wilson Center, Nashville Public Library Foundation, and Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, among others. The Free’s continue their involvement and support at Jim’s alma mater by establishing the Jim and Ann Free Endowed Scholarship in Music Business at MTSU.

Robert Hickmott

Managing Partner

Robert Hickmott

Bob Hickmott has worked with The Smith-Free Group since 1999. His diverse and extensive experience in government, politics and the business community has continued to provide our clients with effective and knowledgeable political insight and strategy.

Prior to his work at Smith-Free, Bob served in the Clinton-Gore Administration as a senior political advisor for two Federal agencies, in various capacities for five Senators, and has practiced law, legislative strategy and public affairs for two major corporations. More recently, he served on the EPA's Superfund Policy Task Force.

Bob served as Counselor to HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo, where he was the senior advisor to the Secretary on intergovernmental relations and external constituencies. He was also an advisor on the Department's Brownfields program, which combined economic development with environmental clean-up in America's cities.

Before HUD, Bob served as Associate Administrator for Congressional Affairs for EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner. He was also the principal advisor on all congressional and legislative issues and helped to develop and implement the Administration's environmental agenda on Superfund, Clean Water Act, Brownfields, and issues such as food safety and drinking water.

He served as a Public Affairs Counsel at E.I. DuPont Company, Executive Director for the National Business Council at the Democratic National Committee (1980-1983) and later, Political Affairs Director for Congoleum Corporation (1983-1984).

Bob served as Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Timothy E. Wirth, working on banking and securities issues (1987-1989), and then as an associate with the law firm of Skadden, Arps. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, he was the Deputy Executive Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Bob graduated summa cum laude from Boston University's School of Public Communications. He received his Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in 1988.

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Bob and his wife Diane Dewhirst, reside in the District of Columbia.

Sarah Merchak

Senior Vice President

Sarah Merchak

Sarah Merchak Senior Vice President
Sarah Dumont Merchak is a principal at the Smith-Free Group, focused primarily on banking and housing policy. Previously, she was the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). In that role, she managed a team of legislative and congressional experts, advised the Director on all legislative issues, and designed FHFA’s proactive Congressional strategy.

Prior to joining FHFA, Ms. Merchak served as a leading public policy advocate for both USAA and Visa. In both roles, she created and executed successful strategies to bolster the global government relations agenda, while also managing relationships with strategic third-party allies. While at Visa, Merchak established and oversaw the government relations activities for Visa Canada.

Merchak has Capitol Hill experience in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. She served as a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Banking Committee and, while in the House of Representatives, as a senior legislative staffer for several Members of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC). She began her Capitol Hill career as a staffer on the HFSC Capital Markets Subcommittee.​

Ms. Merchak is a graduate of Belmont Abbey College. She and her husband live in Virginia with their children, dog and any variety of foster pets.

W. Timothy Locke

Senior Vice President

W. Timothy Locke

Tim Locke serves as Senior Vice President in the firm. Having brought his government relations practice to Smith-Free in the third year of its inception in 1996, he has helped clients at the intersection of business and public policy for more than twenty-five years. His breadth of experience and extensive relationships have benefited many an enterprise befuddled by inside-the-beltway federal regulators or policymakers.

Corporate clients rely on Tim's intuitive sense of the political landscape to guide decision-making processes and engagement strategies. When the federal government proposes legislation or regulations that will affect an organization's operations, plans, goals, or finances, Tim's proven ability to anticipate obstacles and identify opportunities to mitigate risk is unparalleled. In Republican offices across the U.S. House or Senate, he is an able lobbying advocate for his client's vested interests - because helping clients avoid negative effects of government intervention is the name of his game.

Tim has deep and wide-ranging experience working in a variety of sectors including communications, energy, trade, manufacturing, federal funding, health care providers, entertainment, electronic payments, consumer lending, financial services, housing policy, transportation, and sovereign interests.

Before joining Smith-Free, the Tennessee native held positions during the Reagan Administration in The White House, the Transportation Department, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Tim began his career as an assistant to Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. the U.S. Senate Republican Leader. He earned his bachelor's at the University of Mississippi, Ole Miss.

Trevor Kolego

Senior Vice President

Trevor Kolego

Trevor Kolego served as Director of Member Services for Speaker of the House John Boehner from 2011 to November of 2015. As a senior aide to Boehner, he functioned as a liaison between the Republican Members of Congress and the Office of the Speaker.

In this capacity, he consulted with Members on a daily basis, and advised their staffs on all aspects of operations.

Trevor also advised the Speaker on the Steering Committee, the process by which rank and file members are appointed to chairmanships and committees.

Prior to serving the Speaker, Trevor held similar positions while Rep. Boehner served as Republican Leader. Trevor was Legislative Director for former Representative Jon C. Porter of Nevada. He served in this role from January 2005 until June 2007. As Legislative Director, he handled tax and trade issues for Rep. Porter during his tenure on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Trevor also served as a Legislative Assistant for former Representative Chris Cannon of Utah.

Trevor began his career in Washington, DC with the firm of McClure, Gerard and Neuenschwander, a small lobbying firm started by retired Senator James McClure of Idaho.

Trevor is a 1999 graduate of Lynchburg College in Virginia.

Michael Gaffin

Senior Vice President

Michael Gaffin

Michael Gaffin joined The Smith-Free Group in 2021. His time in government and politics, coupled with his experience in finance and business provides clients with a unique and effective perspective that meets their demands.

For seven years he was the Chief Political Strategist for the Marwood Group, a healthcare focused political intelligence and advisory firm that identifies and analyzes the impact of legislative and regulatory risk for private equity firms, hedge funds, institutional investors and healthcare companies. In his time at the firm he gained invaluable real world banking and finance experience dealing with healthcare investors and operators from all over the world, while maintaining his relationships with policy makers throughout Washington.

Prior to heading downtown in 2014, Mr. Gaffin spent nearly a decade on Capitol Hill working for members in both the House and Senate.

He began his career working on the committee staff of the Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee for Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) focusing on labor and employment issues. Later, he would serve Chairman George Miller (D-CA) on his House Education and Labor committee staff where he worked on landmark legislation such as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, as well as many other labor, healthcare and other workforce related items. Following his time working for the House Education and Labor committee, he joined Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s (D-CA) office where he helped manage her portfolio on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Gaffin rounded out his U.S. House of Representatives experience as Congressman Rob Andrews’ (D-NJ) Legislative Director and head of his D.C. office where he handled healthcare, higher education issues like the Gainful Employment regulation, armed services and budget policy. During his time in Mr. Andrews’ office the Congressman was one of the six original authors of the Affordable Care Act in the US House of Representatives and an active member of the Democratic Caucus.

Before leaving public service, he served in Senator Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) office as the Legislative Director for the bipartisan U.S. Senate Northeast Midwest Coalition where he helped coordinate and pass legislation concerning regional policy priorities in the energy, environmental, trade and manufacturing areas.

Mike attended Bowling Green State University where he met his wife, Shelley, as members of their respective golf teams. They live in Alexandria, VA with their daughter Jaclyn.

John Christie

Senior Vice President

John Christie

John Christie is a Senior Vice President at the Smith-Free Group. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. In that role, he successfully managed a full team of legislative and congressional casework experts, advised the Congresswoman on all legislative and campaign matters, and was the office's main point of contact on all subjects related to the Congresswoman's Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus, including the HBCU Partnership Challenge, a public-private partnership initiative that engages close to 100 leading companies.

Christie has worked in several congressional offices in the U.S. House of Representatives, advising on legislative issues related to education, labor, criminal justice, financial services, and trade policy for eight years. During his time on Capitol Hill, he shepherded the passage of multiple bills and initiatives into law, including major components of the 2018 Farm Bill and successive Omnibus packages.

Mr. Christie is a graduate of Hampton University and the Georgetown University Law Center. A proud D.C. area native, he lives in Silver Spring, MD with his fiancee.

Kristin Winters

Manager of Office Operations, Associate

Kristin Winters

Kristin Winters has been with The Smith-Free Group since its inception and continues to play an integral role in the daily operations and management of the office. She provides critical legislative, research, and administrative support to both our principals and clients.

Kristin acquired a solid foundation for working in the political arena through her prior experience on Capitol Hill, in both the offices of U.S. Senator Paul S. Sarbanes and the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Aging. She then transitioned into the world of consulting, beginning as a staff assistant at Walker/Free Associates.

Throughout the years, Kristin has been relied upon for a multitude of assignments covering every facet of our firm. She is adept at coordinating client-related fly-ins, briefings and conferences, organizing fundraisers and film screenings, monitoring congressional hearings, and tracking legislation. In addition, she has worked on a varied portfolio of issues of importance to the firm and its clients, ranging from intellectual property and copyright, to Native American, financial services, and tax issues, to name a few.

Kristin also handles an array of office managerial duties which have included maintaining vendor relationships, assisting with bookkeeping duties, orientating new employees, and she has overseen every aspect of previous office relocations and renovations.

A native of Maryland, Kristin graduated from Frostburg State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and a minor in History.

Jean Lee

Senior Associate, Human Resources

Jean Lee

Jean Lee joined the firm in 2005 and has served in a variety of capacities over the years. In addition to supporting both the Chairman and Managing Partner of the firm, she provides support with policy research and legislation tracking with a focus on transportation, healthcare, energy and environment. She has extensive experience with organizing political fundraising events.

Previous to joining the Smith-Free Group, she worked for a leading DC-based hospitality industry group and assisted in launching three of their local restaurants. Jean came to Washington from her hometown of Lawrenceville, New Jersey and is a graduate of The George Washington University.

John Gibbons

Associate

John Gibbons

John joined the Smith-Free Group as an Associate in February 2022 and provides policy research and legislative coverage for our team. He has experience on Capitol Hill where he worked for a Member of Congress who served on the House Appropriations Committee and House Agriculture Committee. John also worked at an intellectual property law firm where he assisted attorneys with client correspondence and patent and trademark casework.

John moved to Washington, D.C. from Chicago, Illinois to attend The George Washington University where he earned his undergraduate degree in criminal justice and political science. He later completed his master's degree in public policy and administration at Northwestern University.

What We Do

Expertise / Capabilities / Practice Areas / Giving Back

Government affairs should not be one-size-fits all. Positioned at the intersection of politics, policy, and procedure, the Smith-Free Group’s adaptive and diverse expertise provides a unique combination of active engagement services and access to unparalleled relationships.

Expertise

The Smith-Free Group is the government affairs firm Fortune 500 companies trust to tackle complex public affairs issues and rely on for calculated counsel and winning strategies.

Capabilities

Congressional Affairs & Oversight Expertise

Regulatory Agencies & Executive Branch Affairs

Strategic Advisory Services

Advocacy & Engagement

Practice Areas

Financial Services

Banking

Intellectual Property

Energy & Environment

Tax

Trade

Transportation

Housing

Health Care

Giving Back

The Smith-Free Group is committed to giving back to the Washington, D.C. community, including:

News & Insights

Election Day 2023

November 7, 2023 Insights
It is Election Day in Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and approximately one year until Election Day 2024. But before everyone begins over-analyzing results from these contests, we’d like to share our latest thoughts and analysis on the current state
Read More

The Big Casino – Electing a New Speaker

October 10, 2023 Insights
“Indeed, it has been said Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” –Winston Churchill “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is
Read More
View More News & Insights

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1401 K Street NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20005

202-393-4760
contactus@smithfree.com

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