Federal policy shapes what organizations can build, research, launch, and achieve. WashNav helps universities, nonprofits, defense companies, aerospace firms, and aviation operators turn Washington’s complexity into real opportunity and navigate its risks with confidence.
Our work spans higher education and industry, but the challenge is often the same: translating institutional or organizational priorities into federal action, and doing it with credibility, precision, and relationships that hold.
THE WASHNAV ADVANTAGE
Our team brings rare, firsthand experience from both sides: decades inside major research universities and industry, and years on Capitol Hill. We know how federal agencies think, how appropriations get made, and how legislation actually moves.
- Decades of senior experience inside major research universities, national laboratories, and industry
- Deep expertise across defense, aerospace, aviation, science, technology, national security, and energy policy
- Proven track record securing federal appropriations and influencing legislation
- Trusted guides through Congressional investigations, oversight, and federal procurement
- Bipartisan relationships built over careers, not campaigns
SERVICES
We tailor our work to your organization’s mission, sector, and goals. Our core services include:
Federal Advocacy
Direct, strategic representation before Congress and federal agencies, whether you’re a university seeking research funding, a defense company navigating procurement, or an aviation operator working with the FAA, USFS, or DOD.
Legislative Access & Intelligence
Translating the federal process into clear, actionable insight and connecting your leadership with the right people at the right moments.
Institutional & Corporate Positioning
Elevating your mission, capabilities, and brand with policymakers, agency officials, and congressional staff. We help organizations become known quantities, the ones lawmakers and agency leaders call when they need expertise.
Leadership Advisory
Positioning your executives, faculty, and technical experts as credible, sought-after voices on Capitol Hill and on federal advisory committees.
Federal Investigations & Oversight
Experienced, calm guidance when your organization faces Congressional scrutiny, agency review, or federal contracting disputes.
Research & Technology Development
Strategic planning, federal agency engagement, grant writing support, and proposal review to strengthen your organization’s position in the federal R&D ecosystem, across universities, national labs, and private sector innovators.
Defense & Aerospace Policy
Specialized support for defense technology companies, space and launch providers, and aviation operators navigating DOD procurement, Space Force programs, FAA regulatory processes, and federal contract vehicles. From appropriations strategy to program advocacy, WashNav understands the federal defense and aerospace landscape.
Wildfire & Natural Resources Policy
Dedicated support for aerial firefighting operators and natural resources organizations working with the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Congress on wildfire response funding, contracting policy, and long-term resource planning.
RESULTS
Policy Advocates
- Secured a Congressional testimony opportunity that elevated a client’s national voice on higher education policy.
- Established a university as a recognized leader in academic research and security best practices.
- Drafted and successfully enacted legislation to expand federal student financial aid access for underserved populations.
- Launched an international nonprofit focused on strengthening national competitiveness through global collaboration.
- Directed a C-suite policy steering committee supporting multimillion-dollar advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity initiatives.
- Produced and ran a multi-year Congressional briefing series on science and innovation policy.
Political Experts
- Secured more than $100 million for a research facility in FY24 appropriations.
- Won Congressional support to extend and expand a federal energy research program.
- Secured Community Project Funding to modernize nursing facilities.
- Obtained multimillion-dollar federal appropriations for an academic training facility.
- Built a targeted strategy to raise an institution’s profile with key federal R&D funding agencies in critical technology areas.
- Successfully translated science and innovation policy reports into legislative language and built coalitions to advance Congressional action.
- Advanced federal contracting and appropriations priorities for organizations in the defense autonomy, space launch, and aerial firefighting sectors.
Trusted Partners
- Negotiated multimillion-dollar federal cooperative R&D agreements on behalf of research institutions.
- Structured industry-university partnerships to manage national research and development facilities.
- Developed proposal strategies and participated on teams for federal RFPs, including DOE hubs and national laboratory competitions.
- Created Community Commitment Plans and coordinated state and local stakeholder engagement for federally funded projects.
- Guided defense and aerospace organizations through complex federal regulatory and procurement environments, including DOD, FAA, and Space Force program offices.
