AH&LA Governmental Affairs Promotes Kevin Maher And Shawn Mcburney
Washington | The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has appointed Kevin Maher and Shawn McBurney to senior vice president of governmental affairs. Both Maher and McBurney most recently served as the association’s vice presidents of governmental affairs.
Washington | The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has appointed Kevin Maher and Shawn McBurney to senior vice president of governmental affairs. Both Maher and McBurney most recently served as the association’s vice presidents of governmental affairs.
As senior vice president, Maher is responsible for representing the interests of the lodging industry before regulatory agencies and Congress. He provides guidance and counsel to AH&LA members; and writes monthly columns, press releases, member advisories and alerts, and sample articles and letters for use by the association's 10,000 members. Maher focuses on several issues including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employee safety and health, fire protection, regulatory reform, security, and telecommunications.
Additionally, Maher frequently speaks to large groups of industry executives and association members, and regularly contributes commentary to The New York Times, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Wired Magazine, Legal Times, and USA TODAY.
Prior to joining AH&LA, Maher worked for the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) for three years, and U.S. Representative Bob Carr of Michigan, formerly chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation.
A Midwest native, Maher graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and political science.
In his new role, McBurney monitors federal legislative activities and represents the association on tax, labor, international business, and other legislative issues. McBurney serves on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services and Finance Industries, which is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative, to represent AH&LA and the industry.
Prior to joining AH&LA, McBurney was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001, to serve as associate administrator, congressional and intergovernmental affairs and senior advisor at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). In that capacity, he served as the congressional and intergovernmental advisor to the GSA Administrator, and supervised and maintained agency liaison with all Members of Congress, Congressional committees, and other federal agencies.
From 1991-2001, McBurney was director of government relations at Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), where he developed and managed the governmental outreach activities for the largest taxpayer watchdog group in the country. He served as special assistant to Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.), where he implemented legislative initiatives from 1993-1999. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., to begin a career in politics, he worked as a commercial real estate agent in California from 1988-1991.
McBurney holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California—Los Angeles (UCLA). He is an amateur historian and photographer, and has written articles and taken photographs for American Heritage magazine and other publications.
“We congratulate Kevin and Shawn on their promotions. Throughout their tenure with AH&LA, they have helped the association achieve many of its key legislative goals,” said AH&LA Executive Vice President for Public Policy Marlene Colucci. “This advancement also illustrates the association’s continued commitment to providing strong governmental affairs representation to the lodging industry.”