Alison Feighan
President
President
Alison launched the Feighan Team in 2015 because she wanted to create a government relations and advocacy firm committed to amplifying the voice of community development organizations and social enterprises in Washington, DC.
Alison has worked in the field of community development and housing since 1984 and has 25 plus years’ experience as a lobbyist in Washington. In that time, she has helped numerous clients succeed as the political landscape in Washington changed. Through it all, she has seen first-hand that there is no substitute for engaging and empowering clients to be powerful advocates. She demystifies the political and legislative process and provides clients with the tools and strategic counsel they need to advance their causes, building bi-partisan support and seeking common ground.
Recognized as a creative and tenacious advocate, Alison has experience on a range of issues including small business finance and microenterprise development, rural economic development, community development finance and venture capital, and tax credit financing. She was instrumental in crafting and enacting several critical pieces of legislation including the New Markets Tax Credit, the New Markets Venture Capital Program, the SBA Microloan Program, the SBA’s Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME), and the Community Advantage (CA) loan guarantee. In addition, she has extensive experience helping clients secure and increase funding for their work in traditionally underserved urban and rural communities. Alison works with a wide range of federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Treasury and the Small Business Administration.
Built on a solid foundation of service, organizing and advocacy, Alison launched a unique lobbying firm that combines the power of what they know and who they know to advance the interests of their ‘game changer’ clients.
Before coming to Washington, Alison lived in Boston where she worked on community reinvestment and Fair Housing issues and helped launch an affordable housing program for a community action agency in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Alison is a proud native of Cleveland, Ohio. She holds a Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.
Alison has worked in the field of community development and housing since 1984 and has 25 plus years’ experience as a lobbyist in Washington. In that time, she has helped numerous clients succeed as the political landscape in Washington changed. Through it all, she has seen first-hand that there is no substitute for engaging and empowering clients to be powerful advocates. She demystifies the political and legislative process and provides clients with the tools and strategic counsel they need to advance their causes, building bi-partisan support and seeking common ground.
Recognized as a creative and tenacious advocate, Alison has experience on a range of issues including small business finance and microenterprise development, rural economic development, community development finance and venture capital, and tax credit financing. She was instrumental in crafting and enacting several critical pieces of legislation including the New Markets Tax Credit, the New Markets Venture Capital Program, the SBA Microloan Program, the SBA’s Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME), and the Community Advantage (CA) loan guarantee. In addition, she has extensive experience helping clients secure and increase funding for their work in traditionally underserved urban and rural communities. Alison works with a wide range of federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Treasury and the Small Business Administration.
Built on a solid foundation of service, organizing and advocacy, Alison launched a unique lobbying firm that combines the power of what they know and who they know to advance the interests of their ‘game changer’ clients.
Before coming to Washington, Alison lived in Boston where she worked on community reinvestment and Fair Housing issues and helped launch an affordable housing program for a community action agency in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Alison is a proud native of Cleveland, Ohio. She holds a Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.
Kim Wilson
Vice President
Vice President
Kim uses her skills as an advocate and communicator to empower people and strengthen communities. Kim works with Feighan Team clients to develop and execute successful advocacy campaigns with measurable outcomes.
Kim previously worked in the Washington, D.C. office of Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN). Before coming to Washington, Kim was an organizer with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Colorado where she helped launch the “Home Health Care Fight for $15” campaign - an effort to raise wages for caregivers. Kim played a key role in building an organizing committee that engaged with news media and developed relationships with local, state, and federal officials.
Kim also brings a background in finance to the Feighan Team, having spent three years at Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union in Saint Paul, MN. In her role, Kim worked directly with credit union members and also provided back-office support in mortgage underwriting, operations, small business cash flow analysis, and accounting.
Kim is from Saint Paul, Minnesota and earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and global studies from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. While serving in her role with the Feighan Team, she completed a Master of Public Policy with a concentration in regulatory policy at the George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration in 2021. Kim graduated with Pi Alpha Alpha honors and was a two-time Bryce Harlow Foundation fellowship recipient.
Kim previously worked in the Washington, D.C. office of Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN). Before coming to Washington, Kim was an organizer with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Colorado where she helped launch the “Home Health Care Fight for $15” campaign - an effort to raise wages for caregivers. Kim played a key role in building an organizing committee that engaged with news media and developed relationships with local, state, and federal officials.
Kim also brings a background in finance to the Feighan Team, having spent three years at Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union in Saint Paul, MN. In her role, Kim worked directly with credit union members and also provided back-office support in mortgage underwriting, operations, small business cash flow analysis, and accounting.
Kim is from Saint Paul, Minnesota and earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and global studies from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. While serving in her role with the Feighan Team, she completed a Master of Public Policy with a concentration in regulatory policy at the George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration in 2021. Kim graduated with Pi Alpha Alpha honors and was a two-time Bryce Harlow Foundation fellowship recipient.
Amyra Hasan
Policy Coordinator
Policy Coordinator
Amyra brings her passion for advancing equitable policy solutions and her creative writing skills to the Feighan Team, where she provides critical support to all of the Team’s clients.
Amyra previously interned in the DC office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen while he represented Maryland’s 8th District. She also gained invaluable experience conducting survey interviews and managing data as a Research Assistant for the University of Maryland’s Prevention and Early Adversity Research Lab. In addition, Amyra served as a Lead Explainer at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and as an Education Intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
Amyra earned her bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she advocated for open-source materials as a MaryPIRG canvasser. Born to first-generation immigrant parents, Amyra intimately understands the transformational power of education in a child’s life and is an impassioned advocate for early childhood education.
Amyra previously interned in the DC office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen while he represented Maryland’s 8th District. She also gained invaluable experience conducting survey interviews and managing data as a Research Assistant for the University of Maryland’s Prevention and Early Adversity Research Lab. In addition, Amyra served as a Lead Explainer at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and as an Education Intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
Amyra earned her bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she advocated for open-source materials as a MaryPIRG canvasser. Born to first-generation immigrant parents, Amyra intimately understands the transformational power of education in a child’s life and is an impassioned advocate for early childhood education.
Hannah Toriz Perez
Operations and Client Engagement Associate
Operations and Client Engagement Associate
Hannah is the Feighan Team’s Operations and Client Engagement Associate. As a first-generation Mexican American raised by immigrants, Hannah understands how important effective, mission-driven advocacy is for the empowerment and social progress of underserved communities. For the past four years, Hannah has worked for several nonprofit organizations with missions such as access to affordable housing and immigration reform.
In 2017, Hannah relocated from her hometown of Los Angeles, California to Providence, Rhode Island to serve as an AmeriCorps member at the Smith Hill Community Development Corporation (CDC). As the CDC’s Resident Services Coordinator, Hannah provided resource referrals, eviction prevention services, and case management. She also organized educational workshops for tenants that covered topics such as understanding credit, avoiding predatory services, money management, and fair housing laws.
Hannah went on to work for the Immigrant Coalition of Rhode Island, where she collaborated with over 40 local community partners and members to implement strategies for community engagement and provide immigrant rights workshops. During her time with the Immigrant Coalition, Hannah organized the “Driver Licenses for All” campaign, which sought to pass legislation granting all residents of Rhode Island the ability to obtain a driver’s license, regardless of immigration status.
In 2017, Hannah relocated from her hometown of Los Angeles, California to Providence, Rhode Island to serve as an AmeriCorps member at the Smith Hill Community Development Corporation (CDC). As the CDC’s Resident Services Coordinator, Hannah provided resource referrals, eviction prevention services, and case management. She also organized educational workshops for tenants that covered topics such as understanding credit, avoiding predatory services, money management, and fair housing laws.
Hannah went on to work for the Immigrant Coalition of Rhode Island, where she collaborated with over 40 local community partners and members to implement strategies for community engagement and provide immigrant rights workshops. During her time with the Immigrant Coalition, Hannah organized the “Driver Licenses for All” campaign, which sought to pass legislation granting all residents of Rhode Island the ability to obtain a driver’s license, regardless of immigration status.
Jacob Sowers
Summer Advocacy Intern
Summer Advocacy Intern
As the Feighan Team’s Advocacy Intern, Jacob shares his enthusiasm for helping organizations excel in the pursuit of their missions. Jacob leverages his strong communications skills to elevate the impact of Feighan Team clients and ensure that the communities they serve receive access to fair and equitable opportunities.
Jacob is currently a student at Georgetown University studying government and political science and minoring in journalism and psychology. He has taken a wide variety of courses involving policy change, social justice, writing, and community-based politics. Jacob has also worked on several projects involving equity and justice, including articles about police reform stemming from the 2014 Michael Brown shooting. In 2021, Jacob independently expanded a short film he produced for an assignment into a full-length documentary about the Delmar Divide in St. Louis, Missouri.
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Jacob understands the importance of community-based organizations in supporting small business growth. Jacob believes that it is essential to dig deeper into real-world experiences and transcend partisanship in order to find solutions to the challenges facing communities today.
Jacob is a proud native of St. Louis, Missouri, where he first began to explore local politics and the impact of policy on the community around him.
Jacob is currently a student at Georgetown University studying government and political science and minoring in journalism and psychology. He has taken a wide variety of courses involving policy change, social justice, writing, and community-based politics. Jacob has also worked on several projects involving equity and justice, including articles about police reform stemming from the 2014 Michael Brown shooting. In 2021, Jacob independently expanded a short film he produced for an assignment into a full-length documentary about the Delmar Divide in St. Louis, Missouri.
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Jacob understands the importance of community-based organizations in supporting small business growth. Jacob believes that it is essential to dig deeper into real-world experiences and transcend partisanship in order to find solutions to the challenges facing communities today.
Jacob is a proud native of St. Louis, Missouri, where he first began to explore local politics and the impact of policy on the community around him.
Photography by Sam Levitan.