Building off a decade of guiding the world’s fastest-growing start-ups and major companies through regulatory and public affairs challenges, today Tusk Strategies announced it has hired Shontell Smith, Esq., former Chief of Staff to the NYS Senate Majority, as an Executive Vice President.

Beginning in August, Shontell will build on the firm’s success in creating and executing interdisciplinary campaigns for the world’s leading disruptors in tech, finance, transportation, healthcare, and countless other industries, helping them build their brands with thought leadership and earned media, gain market share with cutting edge strategies, and solve complex regulatory challenges.

As an Executive Vice President, the firm’s most senior position after CEO, Shontell will create and execute strategies in all aspects of public affairs, including public policy and advocacy, public relations, and building partnerships for the firm and its clients. Her experience in Albany will be invaluable but her portfolio will be national and broad.

Most recently, Shontell served as Chief of Staff and Majority Counsel to the New York State Senate Democratic Majority Conference, where she was responsible for managing the legal, finance, press, and public policy departments under Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. She received her BA in Political Science from Siena College and her JD from the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law.

Said Tusk Strategies CEO Chris Coffey, “Shontell is a super star who I’ve wanted to work with from the first day we met. We couldn’t be luckier or more excited to have her join us in our most senior position. Her experience will be invaluable to the entire Tusk team as our firm continues to grow and take on new challenges not just in New York, but across the entire country.”

Tusk Strategies was founded by venture capitalist, philanthropist and political strategist Bradley Tusk and is now led by CEO Chris Coffey. In the last six months the firm has launched a nationally renowned Crypto + FinTech Practice, led by EVP Eric Soufer, opened a Los Angeles office led by EVP Jackie Zupsic, and hired Cristóbal Alex, Former White House Deputy Cabinet Secretary to President Biden, to launch the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. To learn more about Tusk Strategies, visit tuskstrategies.com.