CONCORD, NH— Cornerstone Government Affairs announced today the addition of two senior government relations professionals, Maura Weston and Kirsten Koch, to its Concord office. Weston and Koch join Marc Goldberg and Mike Vlacich to lead Cornerstone’s growing practice in The Granite State.
Maura previously served as President and Founder of MM Weston & Associates. With extensive experience representing a wide range of clients before the New Hampshire legislature and regulatory agencies, Weston specializes in crafting and executing both short- and long-term legislative strategies, drafting testimony and working closely with policymakers to advance client interests. After founding her own government relations practice, Weston successfully represented clients in key sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, energy and contract procurement. Previously, she worked at Rath, Young and Pignatelli serving as a Partner, Associate and Law Clerk.
Her notable achievements include advocating for the deregulation of VoIP services, reforming wireless facility siting processes and advancing net energy metering laws to expand renewable energy markets. Weston has also played a pivotal role in creating new healthcare legislation for collaborative practice agreements and helped invalidate restrictive covenants in physician employment contracts.
“I am delighted to join Cornerstone and embrace their entrepreneurial spirit as an employee-owned company,” Weston said. “Cornerstone is uniquely positioned given our New Hampshire-based experience and national reach. I look forward to working collaboratively with the team to deliver outstanding results for clients.”
Koch joins Cornerstone following her time at Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire (BIA) where most recently serving as Vice President of Public Policy. In this role, Koch advised the public policy team, driving proactive advocacy efforts and overseeing the policy development process among BIA members. She regularly testified before the state legislature representing the business community on a variety of energy and environmental issues. Koch successfully advocated for changes to make New Hampshire a more competitive state for doing business, including spearheading key policy initiatives to streamline permitting processes and drive the development of local energy sources. Koch also directed BIA’s largest coalition of businesses while producing educational conferences for the organization.
Prior to her time at BIA, Koch worked as a Legislative Aide for the New Hampshire State Senate, gaining an in-depth understanding of the legislative process and building strong relationships with legislators and state agencies. Koch served as the aide to the Health and Human Services Committee and the Transportation Committee. Additionally, Koch served as Strategic Initiatives Director for the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, leading grassroots initiatives and managing statewide coalitions for federal, state and local elections.
“I am thrilled to be joining Cornerstone. The firm has a proven record of success with a well-respected and well-liked team,” Koch said. “I look forward to using my experience to continue helping businesses navigate legislative and regulatory processes.”
“We are thrilled to welcome two exceptional professionals and know they will be integral in helping us to continue growing in New Hampshire,” firm president Campbell Kaufman said. “Our existing and future clients will have an exceptional team with which to work in these challenging political and policy environments.”