Cece Siracuse has more than 25 years of experience in legislative and executive positions in the federal government. A founding partner of ASG, she provides strategic legislative and policy advice to clients on issues ranging from defense, national security, defense communities, military healthcare, labor, environmental conservation and several other policy areas. She is an expert in the areas of military and veterans’ health care, and defense community representation.

Cece served from 1996 to 1998 as the chief civilian appointee from the Department of Defense for liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives, the post of acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Executive Director for House Affairs. She began her government service in 1987 on the personal staff of Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) where she had several positions including Projects Director and Principal Legislative Assistant for Military Affairs, working extensively in supporting defense business and defense communities in Georgia. She was the Director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission from 1994 to 1996. Prior to joining Hurt, Norton & Associates, she was the Vice President, Governmental Affairs, for Sierra Military Health Services, Inc. Cece earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

Jennifer Dionne has 20 years of legislative and executive experience in Congress, the federal government and as a consultant. She specializes in congressional relations, community advocacy, labor and small business issues, defense community issues and maritime conservation. Co-owner and Partner at ASG, she works closely with members of Congress and senior government and nonprofit executives to understand policy problems and identify favorable intersections of policy and politics that yield legislative remedies.

Before forming ASG, Jennifer managed more than a dozen client accounts for Hurt, Norton & Associates’ Legislative Affairs practice. Earlier in her career she served as Deputy Director, Government Affairs for TriWest Healthcare Alliance, a regional administrator of TRICARE health benefits for military service members and their families in 21 western states. Jennifer began her career in government in 2002 in the office of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), first as the Environmental Policy Specialist and Military Affairs Advisor. Later, she served as Senate Liaison for the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

Jennifer earned her undergraduate degree at Towson University and holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore. Her first job out of college was as Program Director for the Oyster Recovery Partnership for the Chesapeake Bay, a line of work that remains close to her heart.

Melissa Guerrero brings her experience working for Senate Appropriators to her role as Assistant Appropriations Coordinator at ASG. Melissa worked as a Legislative Assistant for Patty Murray (D-WA) where she led the Senator’s work on public lands, immigration, water infrastructure, and nutrition. She has also worked for Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and started her journey on Capitol Hill as an intern for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Melissa rounded out her political career by working as a Political Coordinator for Senator Michael Bennet’s (D-CO) reelection campaign in 2022 where she led the effort to turn out Latino and Women voters at historic rates in Colorado. Melissa’s commitment to public policy has led her to continue her education and pursue a Master’s degree in Public Administration at the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Colleen Purcell has spent her career ensuring organizations run at peak performance. Responsible for implementing vision and executing strategies at ASG, she is detail driven with a focus on results. She has a systematic and organized approach applied to numerous diverse operations, including organizing complex congressional fly-ins, always focusing on maximizing effectiveness with minimal wasted travel and downtime.

Colleen has broad expertise working for organizations of multiple sizes and industry focus, including technology, customer service and legislative affairs. Her adaptable abilities are key to managing the details of ASG’s individual client needs, while working with firm partners to execute key project priorities. She is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a minor in Political Science and French.

With over a decade of public and private sector experience in wildland fire, emergency management, conservation advocacy and foreign policy, Jonathon leverages his boots-on-the-ground experience, strategic communication skills, and deep understanding of the policy space to secure desired outcomes for clients. Jonathon’s work focuses on advancing tangible international and domestic conservation objectives on behalf of NGOs, tech start-ups and Fortune 500 companies, partnering with state and federal government agencies, legislatures, community leaders, and other stakeholders. He earned a master’s in international studies from the University of Washington and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Oregon State University with a degree in Political Science. Jonathon was an invited guest speaker at Humboldt University-Berlin where he presented Trends of Democracy’s Decline in the European Union and the United States.”

Heba comes to ASG after nearly a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently serving as Military Legislative Assistant to former U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO). As the Senator’s senior defense policy advisor, Heba played a defining role by helping secure authorization and federal appropriations for several key national security priorities and infrastructure projects across Colorado, specifically in the areas of national security space and cyber. Heba also worked closely with state and local leaders to expand professional licensure opportunities for military spouses moving to Colorado on military orders.

Before joining Senator Gardner’s staff, Heba worked for Senator John Boozman (R-AR) as a member of his personal office’s legislative staff team. Heba helped advance specific constituent interests in national defense, homeland security, immigration, and veterans’ affairs through legislation, appropriations, and advocacy.

Heba’s extensive background influencing, and securing, legislative priorities demonstrates a track record of collaborative problem solving and identification of strategic engagement opportunities for stakeholders and communities alike.

Rosie has been working in national security for more than 20 years. She began her career on active duty in the United States Air Force as a public affairs officer. She was stationed at Hurlburt Field, working with Air Force Special Operations and at Maxwell Air Force Base. She transitioned out of uniform to work for the United States Navy, first at the Washington Navy Yard and then in Coronado working with Naval Special Warfare Command. After her time with the Navy, she worked in the Intelligence Community for four years at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. In 2014, she was selected as NGA’s Brookings Congressional Fellow, and served in the office of Sen Mark Warner (D-VA). After her one-year fellowship, Sen Warner asked her to leave the IC to be his military legislative assistant. She served in the role for three years before moving to the office of Sen John Boozman (R-AR) to work on defense and veterans’ issues. In 2020, Rosie moved to the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, where her portfolio included Navy aircraft procurement and shipbuilding and Army other procurement and research and development. Rosie left the Senate to move to Tanzania in 2022, and shortly thereafter, she began supporting clients for Atlantic Strategies Group.

Rosie has a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and Journalism from Alabama State University and a Master’s degree in Corporate Communications from Georgetown University.

Scott joins ASG as a full-time law student at University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, and a former Law Clerk at a prominent Baltimore based law firm. Scott was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland and attended Stevenson University for undergraduate, graduating Cum Laude as a member of the Stevenson University Men’s Lacrosse Team.

Scott has a passion for business and real estate law and is currently serving as a Staff Editor for the Journal of Business & Technology Law. In addition to his research and operations work at ASG, Scott continues to lend his time to the Maryland Carey Law Fair Housing Clinic as a Rule 19-220 Attorney.

As congressional staff he helped draft and pass critical legislation and secure billions of dollars for Maryland’s Second Congressional District through the appropriations process. David was also the Democratic staff lead and cofounder of the Municipal Finance Caucus from its establishment in 2016 to his departure in 2023. On the political side, he raised over $8 million in contributions and oversaw four successful campaigns — winning by large margins in a competitive district.

Before joining Mr. Ruppersberger’s team, David worked at the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce and Small Business Resource Center. He also has many years of experience in the restaurant and retail industries.

David graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in Political Science. During his college career, he was elected to several positions in his fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, including multiple terms as Vice President.