Nonprofits and Policy Making Friends

Watching government at work has long been compared to “learning how sausage is made.” As unappealing as it sometimes seems based on the media, our elected officials can serve as great advocates for nonprofit organizations. Just like cultivating potential donors, nonprofits can, and should, cultivate relationships with our elected officials so that when a need arises, they are aware of the great work of our organizations, and are willing to provide support for our needs. Besides, we’re in the business of relationships, right?

Development professionals are among the best to work with lawmakers on behalf of our organizations because we get the mission, the importance, and know the stories. Join us in this conversational session with Natalie Bright, Bright and Carpenter Consulting, where you will hear more about the process of connecting with our elected officials and leave with a plan of action to either begin or take your efforts to the next level.

Natalie Bright has over twenty-six years of experience lobbying on behalf of Kansas business and state associations at the state and federal levels. Her expertise is in lobbying business issues, specifically in the areas of taxation, human resources, insurance, judicial reform and transportation.

Bright has a joint degree in business administration and political science from the University of California-Riverside. She received her law degree from Washburn School of Law in 1998 and began lobbying for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry during the 1998 Legislative Session. In 1999, Bright left the Chamber to work as a contract lobbyist. In 2008, Bright joined her law school classmate, Marlee Carpenter, and opened her current firm. Bright is active in a variety of statewide business coalitions and has been part of several reform efforts including recent workers’ compensation, immigration, unemployment compensation and health care reform efforts. Bright is licensed to practice law in state of Kansas and resides in Shawnee, Kan. with her husband Kevin and four children.