Kelley Cawthorne

Dave Ladd is a government relations specialist with Kelley Cawthorne. He is responsible for the development and implementation of legislative, administrative and political strategies for a wide range of governmental clients.

Prior to joining Kelley Cawthorne, Dave was appointed by Governor John Engler as the Director of the Office of the Great Lakes. In that capacity, he was responsible for the development of state, national and international water policy involving the Great Lakes. This included serving on the Board of Directors for the Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes Protection Fund and the International Joint Commission's Water Quality Board. At 31, Dave was the youngest person appointed to serve on Governor Engler's Cabinet.

Previous to serving as the Director of the Office of the Great Lakes, Dave was in private practice as a lobbyist for the law firm Dykema Gossett. He also served as the Legislative Director to Speaker Chuck Perricone. In that position, he was responsible for the coordination and implementation of the House legislative agenda. Having served in this role under Michigan's recently enacted term limits, he is uniquely qualified to assist clients in managing the challenges of Michigan's term limited legislature. Dave has also served as the Environmental and Infrastructure Policy Advisor to Governor John Engler, specializing in urban and brownfield redevelopment, land use policy and transportation issues. Prior to that, Dave was appointed as the Regulatory Reform Officer in the Department of Environmental Quality by Governor John Engler, where he worked to streamline and implement the department's administrative rules. Finally, Dave spent 4 years working for now Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema as a legislative assistant.

Having worked extensively in both the Legislative and Executive branches of government, Dave's practice focuses on a wide range of legislative, regulatory and administrative issues. Environmental, tax, health care, municipal and infrastructure issues are just a few of the many challenges Dave tackles on behalf of Kelley Cawthorne clients.