Insights and lessons from building a public affairs firm
Part 1: Origin Story
On February 4th, 2025, something big happened. With an inspiring team behind me, I started an exciting new journey and formally launched Calkin Public Affairs (Calkin PA).
This leap of faith has been years in the making and brings to life the best experiences I’ve grown from my 25-year career. On this journey, I’ve seen a lot. Twists, turns, great wins, some losses and through it all— big lessons.
As I take on this new adventure, I want to share my experiences to help anyone in the political or public affairs space, as well as anyone curious about what it’s like running a business in the Capitol of the world’s fifth largest economy (which often feels more like high school).
I also wanted to do this to expand on the common questions and issues that often come up in conversations about this entrepreneurial journey. My goal in writing is to share some of the quandaries, excitement and setbacks that I come across as I get deeper into this new venture.
Getting to Today
To start, a brief history that inspired this move. I think it’s important for people to know these decisions rarely, if ever, happen on a whim. My career was born from politics. I’ve experienced some very different positions and organizations, which has given me a unique perspective on the industry.
Ten years ago, one decision really set me on a path that would eventually lead to Calkin PA. With friend and mentor, David Townsend, we started a successful political consulting firm alongside longtime Moderate Democratic guru Chris Tapio.
From this experience, I got to learn how to not just run a successful business, but how to create the ultimate harmony for a firm through vision, culture and financial success. Many companies have one. Lucky ones have two. But David showed me having all three was possible. I also had the benefit of learning what not to do, which has been invaluable throughout my career in guiding me to success.
As all good things must come to an end, last year when David decided to retire, my partners and I decided our visions for the next chapter of our lives no longer aligned like they had for the last decade. Going our separate ways was a tough decision, as we had a great partnership that translated to many personal and professional successes.
It was a collective goal to wind down the company on a real high. In this business, that almost never happens – partners almost always find something minor to squabble over and end the firm with hard feelings. It is a testament to the culture we created and the character of everyone involved that we landed as friends and still regularly talk and plan to work together on future projects.
People often joked that our firm was like Hotel California in that people who came to work here never leave. How often do you see a small firm where most employees have stayed for nearly 20 years and want to spend their careers in one place.
Thank you to David Townsend, Chris Tapio and Josh Wood for a wonderful decade.
Launching Calkin Public Affairs
I knew two things for sure when I decided to build my own firm: 1) that I wanted to continue to thrive through creating a company that had vision, culture and financial success; and 2) that I wanted to do it with smart, talented, kind people that I care about. And that is exactly how we’ve started out.
After months of planning and preparation we have hit the ground running, with new and existing clients and a strong pipeline of potential leads. But if I said that we had it all figured out on week three, my team would likely laugh in my face. But that is part of what has been so fun about the process. Fun. Chaotic. At times stressful. But always exciting, rewarding and impactful - both personally and professionally.
Growing from Here
This year has already proven to be unpredictable. From politics to weather to business, this start to 2025 is setting the tone for a busy and eventful year. I’m excited for the journey ahead though, and I’m looking forward to sharing pertinent stories, wins, failures and lessons learned on this platform throughout our first year. I hope you find it educational, or at least enjoyable.