connor | deegan
Your Mission Deserves a Seat at the Table
Connor | Deegan Government Affairs was built on a simple belief: organizations, industries and communities deserve advocacy partners who do more than monitor policy—they should help shape it. Launched by Audience Development Strategies to meet growing demand for strategic government affairs support, Connor | Deegan combines policy expertise, relationship-building and communication strategy to help associations, nonprofits and mission-driven organizations navigate increasingly complex legislative and regulatory environments. The division was created with a different approach in mind—one rooted not only in advocacy, but in accessibility, responsiveness and genuine partnership. Named to reflect values of hard work, service and standing up for people who deserve to have their voices heard, Connor | Deegan aims to help clients move beyond reacting to change and toward influencing it.
Where We Can Help
Government Affairs Strategy
You need more than awareness of an issue — you need a plan. We help you clarify your goals, identify opportunities and risks, and build a strategy that connects your policy priorities to meaningful action.
Legislative Tracking
You shouldn’t have to sort through every bill, rule, or policy update on your own. We monitor the federal and state activity that matters to you and help you understand what it means for your organization.
Issue Analysis
When an issue starts to move, you need to know why it matters and what to do next. We help you interpret policy developments, assess potential impacts, and determine where your organization may need to engage.
Reports & Briefings
You need clear, useful information — not a pile of jargon. We turn legislative updates, issue developments, and policy analysis into reports and briefings that help your board, members, or leadership team make informed decisions.
Stakeholder Strategy
Effective advocacy starts with knowing who matters to your issue. We help you identify the lawmakers, agencies, partners, coalitions, and decision-makers who can influence your priorities — and where we can build relationships or align with others who share your goals.
Legislative Outreach
You need to reach the right people with the right message. We support outreach to congressional offices, state policymakers, agencies, and other government stakeholders so your organization can build relationships and advance its goals.
Communications
Your members want to know how policy changes affect their work, not read pages of legislative language. We help you turn complex updates into clear communications that explain the impact on your industry and what comes next.
Member Mobilization
Your members can be one of your strongest advocacy assets. We help you turn member interest into coordinated action through clear messaging, outreach tools, and engagement strategies that make participation easier.
Strategy Reviews
Sometimes you need a fresh look at what you’re already doing. We review your current advocacy approach, identify gaps or opportunities, and help you sharpen your strategy for the road ahead.
The ADS Connection
Connor | Deegan is the government affairs division of Audience Development Strategies (ADS), an association management company with deep roots in member-driven organizations. That connection gives clients a different kind of advantage: the opportunity to align government affairs with the broader work of running and communicating on behalf of an association.
When your policy team and association management team are working from the same strategy, issues can be translated more clearly, member communications become stronger, and advocacy efforts are better connected to your organization’s goals. Whether you need focused government affairs support or a more coordinated approach across teams, we help make sure your policy work does not sit in a silo.
Meet the Team
CEO
Visionary. Innovator. Workaholic.
Barb grew up working in the family business – an auto repair shop – and learned the value of hard work, honesty and ingenuity first-hand at a very young age. For fifteen years, she worked in newspaper and magazine publishing with stints in circulation, marketing and advertising management before branching off on her own and founding ADS. The publishing industry was a perfect place to develop strong skills in a wide variety of areas – but it also taught many lessons about being agile, changing with the times and embracing technology.
She launched Audience Development Strategies in 2012, initially focusing on marketing consulting for large publishing companies. In 2015, Barb returned to college, earning a B.A. in Political Science from UMASS Amherst, ran several successful state and local political campaigns and began developing a client base for ADS. In her spare time she ran for local office, served a four-year term on her local planning and zoning commission and headed up a local political organization. In 2017, Audience Development Strategies pivoted to association management and has since added several annual events and a government affairs division.
Barb is the Executive Director for the Utility Contractors Association of Connecticut and the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities and earned her CAE (Certified Association Executive) credential in 2025. She is a native of Western Massachusetts and has lived in Avon since 2020 with her husband and daughter.
Director of Policy and Strategic Engagement
Strategist. Influencer. Connector.
Ashley Jackson is Director of Policy and Strategic Engagement at ADS, where she leads Connor | Deegan. She brings over 15 years of experience in government affairs, advocacy, and regulatory strategy, helping organizations navigate complex legislative and regulatory environments.
Ashley has a proven track record of advancing policy priorities, securing multimillion-dollar funding, and building coalitions across industry, government, and nonprofit stakeholders. Her work has supported major infrastructure, transportation, and higher education initiatives, including securing billions in federal funding and leading national advocacy efforts.
She works closely with association clients to translate legislative and regulatory developments into actionable strategy, strengthen communications, and enhance member engagement. Known for her ability to connect legislative and regulatory developments to organizational priorities, Ashley helps clients move from insight to execution in a clear and effective way.
Ashley previously served as Director of Government Affairs at the National Association of College and University Business Officers and held senior leadership roles at the National Asphalt Pavement Association, where she led federal advocacy, coalition engagement, and strategic initiatives.
She holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies from the University of Maryland Global Campus.
Manager, Government Affairs & Strategic Engagement
Collaborator. Communicator. Analyst.
Chris brings six years of government affairs and legislative research experience to the ADS team, with a track record built on large-scale policy work at the intersection of federal, state, and local government. Before joining ADS, he supported the U.S. Army Regional Environmental Coordinators Program as a Department of Defense contractor, where he managed a 50-state legislative portfolio serving more than 1,200 stakeholders and produced monthly legislative intelligence distributed across the Department of Defense. He also gained early experience through internships with the Florida Executive Office of the Governor and the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers.
At ADS, Chris supports government affairs work across the firm’s client portfolio, bringing legislative research and policy analysis expertise to clients navigating complex regulatory environments. He specializes in translating complex legislation into clear, actionable intelligence – tracking bills across multiple states, analyzing amendments, and keeping clients ahead of what’s moving and why. He holds an MS in Applied American Politics and Policy from Florida State University and a BS in Public Health from Florida Gulf Coast University.
Chris grew up in New Jersey and now calls Florida home.
Let's Meet
Government affairs shouldn’t be an afterthought. Schedule a call to see how Connor | Deegan and Audience Development Strategies can work together for your organization’s needs.