John A. Courson, president and chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), has announced the appointment of Brad Cheney as director of legislative affairs. In addition, he also announced the promotion of Pace Bradshaw to director of government affairs. "Promoting Pace and adding Brad will ensure MBA's voice on Capitol Hill continues to be strong and effective on behalf of our members," said Courson. "Given the issues facing our industry, we believe that having our strong and experienced lobbying team is more important than ever."
Cheney is joining MBA from the office of Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), where he served as Chief of Staff. In that role, he was responsible for managing all operations of the Washington, D.C. office, including developing and implementing critical strategy during the recent financial crisis and stabilization efforts. In his new role, Cheney will join MBA's lobbying team on Capitol Hill working with Members of the House of Representatives and Senate. He will begin on Nov. 10.
"MBA is excited to add Brad's energy and expertise in lobbying for the issues important to our members," said Steve O'Connor, MBA's senior vice president of government affairs. "He brings with him valuable experience and knowledge which he will put to use on the industry's behalf."
Previously, Cheney was senior government relations associate for The Glover Park Group and before that worked as assistant to the chief of staff and systems administrator for the office of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). Cheney received a BA degree in political science from the American University and earned his master of arts in political management from The George Washington University.
Bradshaw, who started at the MBA in August 2006, will continue to advocate on behalf of the association on Capitol Hill, working with members of the House of Representatives and Senate on issues important to MBA's members.
"Pace has worked closely with MBA's members and has been a crucial part of our lobbying team as the industry has faced unprecedented attention from policy makers on Capitol Hill," said O'Connor. "He has demonstrated a thorough understanding of the critical issues facing our industry and advocated tirelessly on behalf of MBA's members."
Prior to joining MBA, Bradshaw worked for Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) from 2003-2006, where he specialized in Banking and Commerce Committee issues and in the Office of Public Liaison at the Department of the Treasury. He graduated with a BA from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Both will report to Thomas Koonce, MBA's newly-hired vice president of legislative affairs.
For more information, visit MortgageBankers.org.
