Event Categories: Energy

Rodney Davis is Head of Government Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The former congressman leads the Chamber’s engagement on Capitol Hill and with the administration, helping defend against the growing threats to the American free enterprise system and working to advance pro-growth policies.

As a five-term Republican U.S. Representative for Illinois’ 13^th district, Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, and a Deputy Whip, Davis was considered one of the most effective legislators during his tenure, willing to work across the aisle to advance common-sense policy solutions.

Prior to being elected to the U.S. House in 2012, Davis served as projects director for Congressman John Shimkus for 16 years, helping Illinois residents and communities cut through government red tape and support local economic development. He joined the Chamber in August 2024.

Paul Friel was elected to the state PA House of Representatives in November 2022, serving the state’s 26th Legislative District in Chester County. Friel has spent his career innovating and leading in the manufacturing, retail and environmental sectors. Most recently, he was owner of PACE Environmental, an environmental testing and engineering firm. He has also been highly invested in his community — serving on the executive boards of nonprofits such as Camp Rainbow and the Philadelphia Boys’ Choir, coaching wrestling, and serving as president of the Owen J. Roberts School Board.

Friel brings this perspective and experience to Harrisburg and is committed to working on some of the most pressing issues our families face: 

• Making sure that high quality public education is available to every child, regardless of where they live and preparing each student in our Commonwealth for college if they choose, a career and civic life.
• Supporting innovative environmental policy that ensures clean air and water for future generations; promoting the development of strong and sustainable local economies and their energy and manufacturing sectors; and safeguarding open space, including the Commonwealth’s integral farmland.
• Protecting democracy by upholding voter rights and advocating for reforms that will increase the transparency and efficacy of government.

Friel grew up in Gilbertsville, PA and graduated from St. Pius X High School and Temple University. 

Relying on his private-sector experience, Rep. Tim O’Neal is working to create and protect jobs, improve infrastructure, ensure our energy diversity and independence, and reform state government. He is serving his third full term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives after assuming office following a May 2018 special election. Tim was elected to serve as the Republican Whip for the 2023-24 Legislative Session.

A life-long resident of southwestern Pennsylvania, Tim graduated from Jeannette High School and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). While an undergraduate, he served in the ROTC program at IUP and was a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard. After graduation, he served on active duty, including a tour in Afghanistan. He rose to the rank of captain. While in combat, Tim was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” for valor. Once he returned from active duty, he chose to settle back in southwestern Pennsylvania and earned his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business. After working in the energy industry, Tim was a human resources director for a construction company.

In his spare time, Tim coaches football and enjoys spending time outdoors. Tim resides in South Strabane Township with his wife, Julia, and their three children, Lucy, Daniel and Simon.

Jim Lee
Susquehanna Polling and Research (SP&R) is a nationally recognized, survey research and polling firm headquartered in Pennsylvania, and specializes in a full range of research services for businesses and state agencies, national and state trade associations, hospitals and health systems, candidates for public office and media outlets. The firm conducts polling in more than thirty states. Founded in 2000, SP&R includes a team of research associates with more than 50 years of combined experience, including telephone agents, focus group recruiters and other consultants.

Susquehanna Polling and Research acquired The Bartlett Research Group in 2016, a Harrisburg-area focus group company that has been conducting qualitative research and focus group services for a wide range of national and state clients since 1986. SP&R’s publicly released polling has been quoted in numerous national platforms including FOX News, MSNBC, CNN, the Rush Limbaugh radio program, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and USA Today. SP&R was profiled by CBS’s Inside Edition on two separate episodes for its unmatched accuracy in the 2020 battleground polling, and the nationally acclaimed, polling aggregator Real Clear Politics (www.realclearpolitics.com) rated SP&R the #1 most accurate polling firm in the nation for its accuracy in the 2020 presidential election in multiple states.

Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College, and has 12 credits earned towards an M.P.A. program at Shippensburg University. Jim resides in Thompsontown, Juniata County, with his wife Dr. Megan Kurlychek, and has two daughters, Ava and Alexis, ages 19 and 15.

Greg Rothman was elected to the State Senate in November 2022 to represent the people of the 34th Senate District, which includes Cumberland and Perry counties and northern Dauphin County. He previously represented the 87th Legislative District in the House of Representatives. 

Rothman chairs the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee, which helps manage and protect the commonwealth’s natural resources and considers legislation affecting hunting, fishing and conservation, and is vice chair of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee. His also a member of the Appropriations, Communications and Technology, Finance, Intergovernmental Operations, and Transportation committees. 

He is the former president and CEO of RSR REALTORS, where he began as a real estate sales agent in 1989. Under his leadership, the company grew to become one of the largest real estate businesses in Central Pennsylvania. 

Prior to his public service, Rothman enlisted in the Marine Corps during Operation Desert Storm. He served nearly 10 years in the Marine Corps Reserve, rising to the rank of staff sergeant before being honorably discharged in 2001. His service led the president of the United States to appoint him to the National Veterans Business Development Corporation board to encourage veterans to start entrepreneurial ventures. 

Rothman is a graduate of Cumberland Valley High School and holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and a Master of Science degree in real estate from Johns Hopkins University. 

He previously served as a trustee at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and as a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg. He was one of the five founders of the Harrisburg Young Professionals. 

Rothman is the proud father of five children. 

Ashlee Rich Stephenson is a nationally respected and highly experienced strategist, pollster, and public speaker with nearly 20 years of experience working on high-level campaigns, independent expenditures, and on behalf of public affairs and corporate interests across the United States.

As Senior Political Strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization, Stephenson has deep experience leading advocacy campaigns to support free enterprise public policy. As head of the Political Affairs and Issue Advocacy division, Stephenson led the Chamber’s Political Advocacy Committee, a member-driven board composed of government affairs heads of offices and CEOs from state and metro chambers. In addition, Stephenson directed the Chamber’s voter education and advocacy campaigns, endorsements, and the U.S. Chamber PAC.

She has worked on several U.S. presidential campaigns, including serving as the polling director for then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 campaign and as an adviser for then-Governor Scott Walker’s 2016 effort.

Stephenson was president of Just Win Strategies, a national political strategy firm, and principal and chief strategy officer at the polling and analytics company WPA Intelligence. She started her career in the Strategy Department at the Republican National Committee.

Named a Rising Star in 2014 by Campaigns & Elections magazine and inducted into the inaugural American Association of Political Consultants 40 under 40 class of 2015, Stephenson is a regularly requested panelist and commentator to discuss evolving trends in politics and public policy.

She currently serves on the boards of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions and The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.

A graduate of Allegheny College and native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stephenson resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and their two children.

Elected on November 5th, 2024, Attorney General-Elect Dave Sunday is at the forefront of enhancing public safety and community well-being. During his time as York County District Attorney, his leadership significantly impacted crime rates and the prison population. During his first term, crime decreased by 30%, and the prison population fell by nearly 40% from its peak. His Early Termination of Probation Program boasts a 95% success rate, making it a model statewide.

After high school, Dave joined the Navy as an enlisted recruit and was deployed to the Persian Gulf, where he participated in Operation Desert Strike. Dave was also deployed to South America and conducted numerous counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean. Those four years changed his life forever. While serving, Dave learned what it takes to be an effective leader under tremendous pressure. He proudly carries on the Navy’s core principles of honor, commitment, and courage to this day.

Dave Sunday pursued his education while working at UPS. He graduated with a Finance degree from Penn State University in 2002 and from Widener Law School in 2007. His legal career began as an intern at the United Nations and continued as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Joseph C. Adams in York County. For fifteen years, he served as a prosecutor in the York County District Attorney’s Office, including roles as Chief Deputy Prosecutor of Litigation, supervising major crime and narcotics cases, and serving as a Legal Advisor to the Drug Task Force and SWAT Team.

In 2013, Dave was appointed Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where he led the prosecution of Operation Sunrise, targeting the “Latin Kings” gang. As District Attorney, he has actively addressed the heroin and fentanyl crisis through the York County Opioid Collaborative and expanded the District Attorney’s Drug Task Force. His dedication extends to protecting seniors through the Elder Abuse Task Force, where he has prosecuted scam artists and appointed a special prosecutor for elder abuse cases.

Dave has tried approximately fifty felony jury trials, including high-profile murder cases, and has obtained numerous convictions for serious crimes. He is the Immediate Past President of the York County Bar Association and serves on several boards, including the York County Children’s Advocacy Center and the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association (PDAA). He also holds national roles, including on the American Conservative Union’s prosecutor advisory board.

Dave lives in Spring Garden Township with his wife and young son, and was endorsed during his campaign by the Republican Attorneys General Association, PA Chamber PAC, PA Sheriff’s Association PAC, Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police, Pennsylvania State Troopers and the Philadelphia Firefighters and Paramedics Union. His commitment to justice and community safety continues to drive his work in York County and he is excited to continue that work as Pennsylvania’s next Attorney General.

Anthony Hardy Williams never dreamed he’d hold elective office growing up. After majoring in economics at Franklin & Marshall College, he planned to use his academic experience to take over the business world, hone his skills at a Fortune 500 company, and strike out on his own. He followed his plan, reaching the upper echelons of corporate America before launching his own small business.  Then his world exploded – literally. That’s when he watched part of his childhood neighborhood go up in flames during the 1985 MOVE standoff in Philadelphia. He saw hopelessness creeping into formerly vibrant communities. He watched companies close across Pennsylvania as jobs disappeared. Fear was on the rise. Opportunities waned. Someone had to address the issues hanging over kitchen tables and the boardroom tables alike. Someone had to have better ideas. At 31, he decided to try and tackle that challenge.

In joining the Pennsylvania Legislature – first as state representative for the 191st District in 1988, then as state senator of the 8th District in 1998 – he resolved to make the needs of his constituents known, and has, with solid results.

In Education

• He served as an original architect of Pennsylvania’s landmark charter school legislation, ushering in an era of expanded options for families.
• Pushed to expand school choice and corporate citizenship through Education Improvement Tax Credit and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs.
• Ensured Pennsylvania’s public high school students learn about the Holocaust and the historical and contemporary consequences of unfettered bigotry and discrimination.

In Public Safety

• Created the Philadelphia Illegal Gun Task Force, an invaluable law enforcement tool for curbing violence.
• Served as prime sponsor of Pennsylvania’s landmark Clean Slate legislation.
• Protected communities from irresponsible liquor license holders.
• Prevented school employees with a history of sexual misconduct from bouncing from school to school, able to prey on innocent children.

In Economic Opportunity

• He developed the Diversity Apprenticeship Program, negotiating to put access to a career in the labor trades within reach for thousands of young men and women.
• Provided a means for Philadelphia to reform its errant property tax system without harming seniors or unfairly squeezing working class families.

He sticks to a simple dictate: find the best ideas and implement them. It’s how he operates in the Pennsylvania Senate, where he serves as the Chair of the Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee and a member of the Education, Banking & Insurance and State Government committees.

As senator for one of the state’s most populous districts, he serves people of all economic, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds with sensibility and compassion. That stems from the moral courage instilled in him by his parents: the late Hardy Williams and Carole Williams-Green. And it’s replenished by the inspiration he finds in his wife, Shari, and their two daughters, Asia and Autumn.