Who We Are

Paul brings more than two decades of government relations experience to clients in financial services, health care, food and nutrition, transportation and infrastructure, media and telecommunications, and the education and non-profit fields. With his extensive knowledge and high-level relationships, Paul has a proven track record of helping clients work with Members in the House and Senate, on both sides of the aisle.

Paul is a widely known and well-regarded fixture in the halls of Congress, both for his consummate professionalism and his ebullient spirit.  He has received numerous awards including the Washington Government Relations Group "Lobbyist of the Year" award. He was named to The Hill's "Top Lobbyists: Hired Guns" list for the past eight years, and was selected numerous times to Roll Call's “Fabulous Fifty” staffers on Capitol Hill.

Paul began his lobbying career after serving for six years as the executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) under three CBC chairs: Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Melvin Watt (D-NC). As executive director, Paul worked for all 43 members of the CBC and coordinated both domestic and foreign policy legislative initiatives for the CBC.  He also worked for Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), who was then a member of the House, Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) and Governor Mario Cuomo (D-NY).   

During the Clinton administration, Paul served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employment Standards Administration under Secretary Alexis Herman.  Paul also worked in the Department of Transportation’s General Counsel’s Honors Program.   

A Washington, D.C. native, Paul earned his bachelor’s degree from Delaware State University and earned both a law degree and a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University.       

Ven has spent more than twenty years in senior roles in both the legislative and executive branch, including the White House. Most recently, Ven served for four years as chief of staff for Congressman Andy Levin (D-MI) and previously served on the staff of three other members of Congress: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) as deputy chief of staff, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) as legislative director, and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) as legislative assistant.  Ven also helped reconstitute the bipartisan House Chiefs of Staff Association where he served as Vice Chair for professional development.

Ven served for eight years in the administration of President Barack Obama as Senior Advisor for House Appropriations and Global Health at USAID and as Director of Congressional Affairs in the science bureau at USDA, where he led the team that stood up the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). At the beginning of the Obama administration, Ven handled congressional affairs in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Prior to joining the White House, Ven was Associate Director for Congressional Affairs at the Millennium Challenge Corporation. 

Before coming to Capitol Hill, Ven worked with the multilateral community at the United Nations Association in Canada on food security issues and at an international NGO following trade and economic policy in Asia, focusing on civil society engagement with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Ven currently serves on the board of the International Career Advancement Program Fellows Association (ICAPFA). Affiliated with the University of Denver’s Korbel School for International Affairs and the Aspen Institute, ICAPFA supports mid-career professionals in foreign affairs from underrepresented communities.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii to parents of south Indian origin, Ven grew up in Canada, graduating from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. 

Stacey spent more than two decades working in the U.S. House of Representatives. She most recently served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) where she focused on issues within the House Judiciary Committee, the Science, Space & Technology Committee, and the Committee on House Administration where Rep. Lofgren held Committee and Subcommittee leadership roles.  Stacey also served three years as the Executive Director of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation and previously served as Legislative Director to former U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). 

Among her other leadership roles, Stacey served as President of the bipartisan House Chiefs of Staff Association, as an Executive Board member of the California State Society and was competitively selected as a bipartisan Stennis Congressional Staff Fellow. Additionally, Stacey has extensive experience with Congressional campaign strategizing, fundraising, redistricting, and field work as well as volunteering for presidential GOTV and DNC convention activities.

Originally from Patchogue, New York, Stacey is a graduate of Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, FL) and earned her master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

Kaadé has an extensive background as a government affairs advocate at the federal, state, and local levels. Prior to joining Federal Street Strategies, Kaadé served as the Director of Government Relations at the Consumer Brands Association, the leading trade association for food, beverage, personal care, and household consumer-packaged goods products. In this position, she was the primary democratic lobbyist representing the interests of more than 70 companies before Congress. 

Her background also includes spearheading state and federal lobbying for Hennepin Health, Minnesota's sole Medicaid-only HMO plan and developing Medicare home health care policy for Catholic Charities Twin Cities. Kaadé began her career serving in the offices of U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

In addition to her professional work experiences, Kaadé has served on various boards and commissions. She previously held the role of Finance Chair on the Open Cities Health Center board, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) serving new Americans in her hometown of St. Paul, MN. She was also an appointed Commissioner for the City of Brooklyn Park, MN. 

Kaadé has a bachelor's degree in Political Science and an MBA in healthcare from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Additionally, she holds a graduate degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

Sonya runs the business operations of the firm, drawing on more than two decades of professional experience across a variety of fields. She started her career in advertising, first planning media campaigns and then moving on to account management where she directed the activities of all departments in the development and production of results-oriented marketing for technology, healthcare, financial services and non-profit clients.

Sonya then became Director of Diversity & U.S. Emerging Markets for the International Franchise Association (IFA) where her role was to increase the number of women and minorities in franchising. In this capacity, she spoke at business conferences around the country, advised and collaborated with governmental and non-profit organizations on ways to encourage more franchise development in their communities and helped IFA member companies attract and retain more minority and women franchisees, suppliers and employees.  After earning her Master's in Teaching, she also taught 5th grade for several years in the Howard County (MD) Public Schools.

Sonya has held numerous volunteer roles over the years, ranging from Children's Church Leader to serving on the Board of Directors of a private school for grades Pre-K to grade 8.  She currently serves on the Executive Board of the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership and is a member of the Duke University Trinity Board of Visitors.

A native of Ohio, Sonya earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a Master of Teaching degree from Loyola University Maryland.