Kevin L. Maher is vice president for governmental affairs for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). His areas of expertise includes the Americans with Disabilities Act, employee safety and health, fire protection, regulatory reform, security, and telecommunications. In his present role, Maher is responsible for representing the interests of the lodging industry before regulatory agencies and Congress. Maher seeks to influence congressional legislation and federal regulations to benefit the lodging industry as well as provide guidance and counsel to AH&LA members. Maher frequently speaks to large groups of industry executives and association members; writes monthly columns, press releases, member advisories and alerts, and sample articles and letters for use by the association's 10,000 members; and provides grassroots guidance to AH&LA's membership resulting in various communiqués to members of Congress. Additionally, he regularly contributes commentary to The New York Times, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Wired Magazine, Legal Times, and USA TODAY. Initially joining the staff in February 1992 as manager of governmental communications, Maher's talents were quickly recognized - eventually being promoted within the governmental affairs department as manager in 1993, director in 1994, and finally his current position in 2000. Prior to joining AH&LA, Maher worked for the Travel Industry Association of America for three years and U.S. Representative Bob Carr of Michigan, formerly chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. A Midwest native (Illinois and Michigan), Maher graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., with a bachelor's of arts in journalism and political science. He and his family reside in Takoma Park, Md.
AH&LA is a 95-year-old dual membership association of state and city partner lodging associations throughout the United States with some 10,000 property members nationwide, representing more than 1.4 million guest rooms. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it provides members with advocacy on Capitol Hill, public relations and image management, education, research and information, and other services to ensure a positive business climate for the U.S. lodging industry. Individual state associations provide representation at the state level and offer many additional cost-saving benefits.