Kelsey Griswold-Berger*

Previous Work

Kelsey spent nearly 12 years on Capitol Hill, in both the House and Senate, working for members from states as different as New Jersey, North Carolina, and Iowa. She spent five of those years in a Legislative Director role, leading teams and managing countless policy projects. She has a deep working knowledge across an array of legislative issue areas and worked directly with committees such as the Senate Finance Committee, House Foreign Affairs Committee, House Homeland Security Committee, House Energy & Commerce Committee, House Appropriations Committee, and the House Financial Services Committee.

Immediately prior to joining ArentFox Schiff, Kelsey served on the staff of Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), where she worked on trade and tax issues to support the Senator’s role on the Finance Committee, as well as commerce and judiciary issues. Kelsey worked on behalf of Senator Burr to advance one of his final priorities, the inclusion of the College Savings Recovery Act in “Secure 2.0.” Kelsey worked with outside stakeholders, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and staff from the Finance and HELP Committees to negotiate language changes which became law and will now permit beneficiaries of 529 Savings Accounts to roll leftover funds to a Roth IRA.

Before joining Senator Burr’s staff, Kelsey served as Legislative Director to U.S. Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ), where she covered health, appropriations, environment and natural resources, judiciary, labor, and transportation issues, while managing the legislative staff and advising on all votes taken by the House. Kelsey worked to advance his priorities through the legislative process on diverse issues such as lead service line replacement, rideshare safety, and reauthorizing public health activities, as well as appropriations community projects and NDAA amendments. She is especially proud of her work on the Autism CARES Act of 2019. Navigating a diverse coalition of stakeholders, Kelsey helped secure a timely reauthorization, ensuring continued research on early interventions and services to families and individuals making the transition to adulthood.

Upon graduating from the University of Rochester in 2011, Kelsey joined the staff of her hometown Congressman, Tom Reed (R-NY), where over the course of four years she progressed from Staff Assistant to Legislative Assistant.

Life Beyond the Law

In her spare time, Kelsey and her husband, Ryan, retreat to the Blue Ridge Mountains, where they enjoy discovering craft breweries and wineries, and volunteer as trail maintainers with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. A lifelong musician, Kelsey plays the viola with the Capital City Symphony.