Consulting Practice Expands with Addition of 3 New Members
Washington, DC – Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Chairman of the Ashcroft Group, LLC welcomed former Missouri Governor Matt Blunt to the firm as a Partner. Governor Blunt brings his experience and expertise to the consulting practice as the Ashcroft Group continues its recent expansion.
The Ashcroft Group also recently added three other professionals to the consulting team: Paul Garrett, the former Special assistant to the US Department of Justice Chief Information Officer; Raquel Steffes, an expert in advanced energy technologies; and Andrew Schauder, the former (Acting) Chief of Staff at the US Department of Labor.
“Governor Blunt and I share more than the experience of having served as Governor of Missouri,” said firm Chairman, former Attorney General Ashcroft. “We share a commitment to integrity, excellence and the liberty and security of the American people.”
“I’m pleased to join a team that is focused on what has been to me a lifelong commitment: producing the best results so that individuals and organizations can realize their highest potential,” said Governor Blunt.
Governor Matt Blunt
Former Missouri Governor Matt Blunt has more than 20 years expertise in state government management and policy.
Blunt was elected Missouri governor in 2004, carrying 101 of the state’s 114 counties. He was a highly effective chief executive, turning the $1.1 billion deficit he inherited into three consecutive surpluses without raising taxes. His achievements successfully managing difficult, complicated budgets are well noted: in 2006, Blunt was the only U.S. governor to receive an A grade from the CATO institute for fiscal management.
Blunt’s leadership revived Missouri’s economy, which had lost 34,000 jobs in the four years before his election. The state legislature passed Blunt’s landmark lawsuit and workers’ compensation reforms in the first months of his administration. Blunt also signed three major tax cuts and pioneered the Quality Jobs Act, Missouri’s most important economic development tool ever passed. By the time Blunt left office, Missourians created 70,000 new jobs.
Blunt graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1993 and began a 14-year naval career, which included more than five years on active duty. He served in Operation Support Democracy, involving the United Nations blockade of Haiti; participated in the interdiction of illegal Cuban immigrants; assisted drug interdiction missions in South America; and received many military commendations, including four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
In October 2001, Blunt became the first statewide elected official in Missouri’s history to be called into active military duty. He served six months in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the nation’s military response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve after to his return to the U.S.
Paul Garrett
Paul Garrett, an expert in cross-organization information sharing, joins The Ashcroft Group, LLC as its Chief Technology Officer. Garrett’s 16-year management and technology consulting background includes thirteen years in the private sector designing and deploying case management, financial management and intelligence systems. For the past eight years, he has focused primarily on intelligence and law enforcement solutions and knows that with better access to data, local, state, and federal governments can keep our streets safer. Garrett is well known in the law enforcement and homeland security communities for his work connecting criminal intelligence systems and advocating for open standards.
From 2006 to 2009, Garrett served as Special Assistant to the Department of Justice Chief Information Officer. He coordinated initiatives to transform the Department’s multi-billion-dollar information technology infrastructure in support of its national security, law enforcement, and management improvement missions.
Prior to government service, Garrett was a consultant and project manager for various system integrators in the Washington, DC area.
Garrett played basketball at Stanford University where he participated in two NCAA tournaments. After graduating, he pursued a brief professional basketball career in Sweden before moving to Washington, DC.
Raquel Steffes
Raquel Steffes is a business development and strategy specialist recognized for problem solving, strategy development, market planning, and managing company growth at large corporations, entrepreneurial companies, and government entities.
Steffes is an expert in advanced energy technologies. She has done research and presentation work for the Advanced Power and Technology Office of the United States Air Force and contributed to the leadership and development of critical projects for utility companies and entrepreneurial clients.
Steffes led strategic marketing efforts at the Visteon Corporation’s Distributed Power Generation SBU where she collaborated with scientists and engineers on business strategies, product development activities, and marketing designs. She also established the path for market leadership through the acquisition of technology, research and development, and external partnerships with industry, energy, and utility companies.
Previously, Raquel held several positions at Ford Motor Company, culminating at Worldwide Sales and Marketing Manager for U.S. and European Operations, at a wholly-owned subsidiary dedicated to automotive recycling, Environ, Inc. While there, Steffes executed global business ventures for the sale of automotive parts and vehicles, led a marketing and sales operation that grew to $10 million in annual revenue, and managed an export and bonded vehicle sales operation with $1 million in sales annually.
Steffes earned a MBA from Lawrence Technological University and BBA from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame. She also completed a Manager Development Program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and participated in several managerial training courses at the Ford Motor Company Training and Development Center.
Andrew Schauder
Andrew Schauder has 10 years of experience developing and maintaining strategic relationships at the federal, state and local levels to meet the goals of senior government officials as well as private sector companies.
Andrew served as Acting Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Labor under Secretary Elaine L. Chao. His job included managing and directing policies and programs at the $11 billion cabinet agency that achieved record results in protecting the health, safety, wages, and retirement security of the nation’s workforce. Andrew was a member of the Management Review Board and chairman of the grants review team.
Prior to joining the Office of the Secretary, Andrew managed strategic relationships with Department of Labor stakeholders including state and local legislators, governors, mayors and membership organizations as the Senior Intergovernmental Officer.
Before his tenure at DOL, Andrew was the Director of Federal Affairs for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation’s largest non-partisan, individual membership organization of state legislators. He created and managed a federal outreach program that increased the visibility and effectiveness of the organization and its members. Andrew built unprecedented levels of participation and engagement between ALEC’s public and private sector members and Congress.
From 2001 to 2005 Andrew served at the U.S. Justice Department as Special Assistant to the Attorney General in various capacities including in the Office of Legal Policy, the Office of Legislative Affairs, and the Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison.
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Garrett, Steffes and Schauder join Tracy Henke on the Ashcroft Group’s security consulting team. Henke, an expert on homeland security and justice funding and programs, assessing the legislative and policy landscape and strategic planning, has been with the Ashcroft Group since 200? . Henke was Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Grants and Training, where she developed and implemented national programs to deter, prevent, respond, and recover from terrorist attacks and catastrophic events. Henke also expedited DHS’s move to a risk management approach. From 2001 to 2005, Henke was a Deputy Associate Attorney General and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). She developed strategy, plans, programs, and budgets for all aspects of the criminal justice system
Earlier this week, The Ashcroft Law Firm, LLC opened offices in Boston, St. Louis, Austin and Dallas with the hiring of four new partners from the U.S. Attorney ranks . Joining the firm are Michael Sullivan, the former U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts; Catherine Hanaway, the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri; Johnny Sutton, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas; and John Ratcliffe, the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
In addition to their work at the law firm, these four top attorneys will be able to lend their considerable expertise to the consulting work of the Ashcroft Group.
About John Ashcroft
U.S. Attorney General. Governor of Missouri. U.S. Senator. John Ashcroft, the Chairman of the Ashcroft Group, LLC has been leading Americans for over 30 years in public and private service.
As Attorney General, Mr. Ashcroft led the U.S. Department of Justice through the transformational period after the September 11, 2001 attacks, reorganizing the Department to focus on its number one priority: preventing terrorism. The tough antiterrorism campaign he directed helped keep America safe throughout his tenure and resulted in the dismantling of terrorist cells across America and the disruption of over 150 terrorist plots worldwide.
As the unprecedented corporate scandals at ENRON, WorldCom and dozens more unfolded, John
Ashcroft was called on to restore America’s faith in the integrity of our marketplace. He marshaled the resources of the federal government to bring to justice those guilty of massive corporate fraud.
In 2005, Mr. Ashcroft established The Ashcroft Group, LLC to help domestic and international corporations apply the leadership principles, sound judgment, and high goals he embraced during his over three decades of public service to the business world.
The Ashcroft Group
In 2005, Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and David Ayres founded the Ashcroft Group, LLC with offices in Washington DC and St. Louis, MO. The Ashcroft Law Firm, LLC was established in 2007. Today’s announcement marks a major expansion of the law firm. In addition, the attorneys will be an integral part of the consulting business.
The Ashcroft Group, LLC specializes in strategic consulting for corporations worldwide in the areas of homeland security, corporate governance, litigation strategy, data security, crisis management, regulatory advice, corporate finance and entrepreneurial ventures. To best service its clients and their often-complex needs, they maintain two separate entities: the consulting firm and the law firm.
With decades of public service and business expertise, the team has worked extensively with leaders in the corporate world and international community, as well as with officials and advisors in the top levels of state, federal and foreign governments. These experiences have formed a deep knowledge and extensive network that directly benefit their clients in each of their engagements.
The Ashcroft Group, LLC and its affiliates advise and invest in companies in the homeland security and law enforcement marketplaces focusing on areas in public and private markets, particularly in the homeland security, law enforcement and regulatory fields, where there is a demonstrated demand for innovative solutions to today’s security needs and tomorrow’s security challenges.