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City of Santa Ana | First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study
<br />RFP NO. 25-029 | Appendix A: Key Staff Resumes & Support Staff Qualifications
<br />Bridget Hennessey
<br />Jurisdictional/CBO Coordination
<br />Bridget is a highly accomplished public affairs and government relations leader with over 22 years of experience championing the priorities of organizations across multiple
<br />sectors. She has a talent for partnering with leaders across all areas and levels to foster synergy, establishing organizational priorities, and building unified strategies to achieve
<br />shared goals. Adept at translating organizational objectives into high-performance, consensus-building advocacy campaigns, she is a skilled public speaker and presenter who
<br />is able to make highly engaging presentations to influence the direction of industry, regulatory, and legislative actions. Bridget excels at building, training, and optimizing the
<br />performance of dynamic teams advocating for policy changes at the local, regional, state, and federal levels. She has focused her career on creating cultures that promote
<br />accountability, innovation, and teamwork as keys to achieving success.
<br /> RELEVANT PROJECT EXPERIENCE
<br />FIRM
<br />HDR
<br />EDUCATION
<br />MA, Public Policy, George
<br />Washington University
<br />BA, Politics & Sociology,
<br />Fairfield University
<br />REGISTRATIONS
<br />Licensed Real Estate Agent, CA,
<br />#02044159
<br />INDUSTRY TENURE
<br />22 years
<br />FIRM TENURE
<br />< 1 year
<br />OCTA, Program Management Consultant (PMC) Services for Capital Programs,
<br />Orange County, CA
<br />Strategic Communications Consultant. Bridget is working with the outreach
<br />team to develop and manage communications across multiple channels to keep the
<br />community informed and drive support for the project. As a subconsultant, HDR is
<br />assisting OCTA’s Highway Programs Department and Regional Rail Department by
<br />providing technical expertise in managing and overseeing its capital development
<br />projects.
<br />Dewey Square Group, Irvine, CA
<br />Principal. Bridget specialized in building and leading diverse coalitions for legislative
<br />and regulatory issue campaigns, offering strategic counsel for advocacy efforts, and
<br />creating effective messaging for a wide range of clients.
<br />WM Technology, Irvine, CA
<br />Vice President of Public Affairs. Bridget built and acted as the guiding force
<br />behind a 24-member Global Affairs team operating across both North America and
<br />Europe that has delivered a series of successful campaigns pushing key priorities
<br />for the industry. She served as a strategic partner to the C-suite team influencing
<br />the strategic direction of the company, including playing a key role in navigating the
<br />group through the complex regulatory landscape to go public on the NASDAQ.
<br />Townsend Public Affairs, Inc., Newport Beach, CA
<br />Client Services Associate. Bridget researched and tracked federal and state
<br />legislation to provide timely policy insights and analysis for clients. She prepared
<br />white papers, legislative alerts and other communications to inform and engage
<br />stakeholders on key legislative developments.
<br />North County Transit District (NCTD), San Diego, CA
<br />Chief of Staff/Governmental Affairs Officer. As Chief of Staff, Bridget took full
<br />ownership of governmental affairs and overseeing operations executed by the
<br />Communications Division. She worked hand-in-hand with the Executive Director,
<br />Executive Team, and Board of Directors to establish and manage legislative priorities
<br />at the regional, state, and federal levels. She directed, trained, and coached a dynamic
<br />team spread across multiple departments, including Customer Service, Community
<br />Outreach, Marketing & Communications, and others; pursued and secured $100M+
<br />in discretionary funding to build and implement critical infrastructure projects over
<br />7 years; devised and launched a powerful marketing campaign that succeeded in
<br />boosting transit ridership up and over 12 million passengers annually even in the face
<br />of the severe economic downturn; and led negotiations with the state and a regional
<br />joint powers authority that enabled NCTD to assume full control over Amtrak rail
<br />services across the entirety of Southern California. As a result of her work, Bridget
<br />was named as a Top 40 Under 40 by Mass Transit Magazine in 2014: “Bridget
<br />Hennessey has guided staff through periods of both transition and crisis since joining
<br />the North Country Transit District.”
<br />Value to City of Santa Ana
<br />Bridget will leverage her expertise to help the City develop and execute a strategic communication plan that
<br />effectively engages CBOs and drives impactful outcomes. Having lived in Santa Ana for most of her life, she is deeply
<br />connected to the local community and understands how to effectively coordinate with CBOs and other stakeholders.A-19
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