David Wasserman is the Senior Editor & Election Analyst at The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, a renowned nonpartisan newsletter since 1984 known for its authoritative analyses of U.S. elections. He also contributes to NBC News.Wasserman is celebrated for his engaging presentations on the current political landscape, offering data-driven insights into national and local election trends, district-specific outlooks, and the intersection of consumer behavior and voting.

Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com lauds Wasserman’s deep understanding of political geography, while the Los Angeles Times describes him as “whip smart” and “scrupulously nonpartisan.” Chuck Todd of NBC’s Meet the Press has called him indispensable on Election Night.

In 2016, Wasserman earned acclaim for accurately predicting Trump’s path to the White House despite losing the popular vote. In 2020, Wasserman’s forecast of Biden’s win was correct in 49 of 50 states, missing only North Carolina. And in 2024, Wasserman correctly assessed that erosion in Democratic support among young and nonwhite voters made Trump the slight favorite to retake the White House.

His insights and commentary appear widely across major media outlets, and he received the News Data App of the Year award for his collaboration with FiveThirtyEight on the “Atlas of Redistricting.”

A prolific writer and speaker, Wasserman contributes to the Almanac of American Politics and lectures at institutions like Harvard’s Institute of Politics and the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, where he was named a resident Pritzker Fellow in 2019.

Born and raised on the south side of Columbus, Council President Shannon Hardin is committed to building an equitable future that works for every resident in our city. After being appointed to Council to fill a vacancy in 2014, he won election in 2015, and re-election in 2017, 2021 and 2023. As Council President, Hardin is focused on preparing the Columbus region for the growth of nearly one million new neighbors over the next 25 years with targeted strategies across housing, transit, workforce, safety, and other issues.Over his time on Council, Hardin has championed many initiatives. He is helping lead the LinkUs plan to transform public transit in Columbus, which would build out 5 bus rapid-transit routes and invest in 500+ miles of greenways, sidewalks, and protected bike lanes. He also championed the Columbus Promise, which allows Columbus City Schools graduates to attend Columbus State Community College for free, in partnership with I Know I Can.

Hardin also helped craft the “Reimagine Safety” legislative package that established independent Inspector General-driven investigations into police uses of force, reformed other police practices, and made critical investments into the root causes of crime, like an expansion of funding for summer youth programming. He has also overseen investments in alternative safety response, which would provide clinical and non-uniformed responders to mental health, substance abuse, homelessness-related, and other crises that do not require or benefit from a police response; a doubling of funding to Columbus arts organizations; the decriminalization of marijuana; and various initiatives to support small and minority-owned businesses.

President Hardin chairs the Rules & Policy and Housing, Homelessness and Building Committees and vice-chair both the Zoning and Workforce, Education, & Labor Committees. In addition to Council, Hardin currently serves on the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the National League of Cities Board of Directors. He is also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and attends the Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Council President Hardin lives on the Far East Side with his son, Noah.

Shawn Cote is the Government Affairs Director for the Tucson Association of REALTORS®, where he leads legislative and regulatory advocacy across one of the Southwest’s most complex political environments. He focuses on housing production, land use policy, and property rights, working to advance the industry’s priorities across multiple jurisdictions with distinct political dynamics.

Shawn brings more than two decades of government affairs and executive leadership experience across multiple markets. His career includes roles at the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties in Seattle, executive and government affairs leadership at the Southwest Montana Building Industry Association, and ten years as Government Affairs Director at the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association. His background spans home building, land development, and association management, giving him a ground-level understanding of how land use and legislative decisions shape real outcomes for REALTORS®, buyers, and communities.

Shawn can be reached at shawnc@tucsonrealtors.org.

Jeff Ledford joined the Georgia REALTORS® staff in August 2016, and currently serves as External Affairs Officer. Jeff oversees political programs designed to protect the members of GAR from public policy decisions that may be harmful to private property rights and the real estate industry. He also serves as the spokesperson for GAR regarding legislative, economic policy, and political matters at the state and national levels. Jeff is GAR’s staff liaison for the Associations Collaborating Together Council, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action Committee, Property Management Council, REALTORS® Political Action Committee, and State and Local Governmental Affairs committees.

Jeff graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in Political Science and holds a REALTOR® Certified Executive designation. He has been a registered lobbyist since 1995 and served as Georgia’s 3rd Real Estate Commissioner.

Jeff represents GAR with groups including the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, American Legislative Exchange Council, Georgia Economic Developers, Association of Real Estate License Law Officials, Georgia Professional Lobbyists Association, Georgia Real Estate Trade Group and with various NAR Committees.

He and his wife Lisa reside in Kennesaw and have been foster parents since 2010; volunteering with Dream Weavers of Georgia, Giving Children a Chance of Georgia and Kennesaw Methodist Church. They have 7 children and a house full of pets.

Jerard Wright is a native Angeleno that has an abiding passion for advocating on community building, transportation and housing issues.

Jerard has been the Government Affairs Director with the Greater LA REALTORS® (GLAR) since November 2020, leading the charge to better mobilize and engage Real Estate members on important real estate and quality of life issues that are important to the business community. This year he serves as BizFed PAC Chair and was immediate past chair of the Government Affair Directors for the California Association of REALTORS®.

Before joining GLAR,  he served as a Policy Manager for BizFed leading the organization to sponsor and sign into law a homeless housing relief bill AB 1097 (Santiago) in 2019, which helped streamline affordable and supportive housing projects in LA County.

Before joining BizFed, he was a transportation Policy Analyst for Move LA for 5 years. Providing research and information around revenue generation and transportation policy. At Move LA he successfully organized the business and faith community around supporting the $100B infrastructure investment program Measure M that passed in 2016 with over 71%.  His transportation advocacy first started as a volunteer with “Friends 4 Expo” a grassroots coalition of neighbors who were in support of building the Exposition Light Rail line.

Jerard graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a BA in Architecture and Urban Planning.

Neeley Erickson is a Government Affairs Director at Illinois REALTORS®, where she has earned recognition for her expertise in legislative and housing policy. Her dedication to civic engagement has been acknowledged with recognition by her local associations, state, and community. She has earned the WREX Inspiring 815 Award and a spot on the Rockford Chamber of Commerce’s 40 Under 40 list.

Before joining Illinois REALTORS®, Neeley spent six years as the Legislative Aide for a State Representative in the Illinois House, where she assisted local governments, advocacy groups, and constituents in navigating state programs and services. This experience, combined with her comprehensive knowledge of local government processes—gained as an elected trustee and Finance Chair in her hometown from 2012 to 2019—has deeply informed her work in public policy.

For the past six years Neeley has been a driving force at Illinois REALTORS®, advocating for policies that safeguard private property rights and promote housing affordability. She served on the National Association of REALTORS® Fair Housing Committee, collaborates with Government Affairs Directors (GADs) nationwide, served on the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) GAD Advisory Group, and is the currently the NAR GAD Advisory Vice-Chair.

One of her proudest achievements was uniting civil rights groups, tenants’ rights advocates, and REALTORS® to establish the Crime Free Housing Coalition of Illinois, which aims to eliminate discriminatory crime-free housing policies. Neeley has also been a featured speaker at the HOPE Fair Housing Center’s annual conference on housing justice and is highly regarded as a resource on housing issues.

Taylor Shanaman is the Government Affairs Director for the Seattle King County REALTORS® (SKCR). A Washington native, Taylor grew up in Tacoma and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Washington State University. During her time at WSU Taylor interned for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office in the communications department. Prior to her current role with SKCR, Ms. Shanaman had worked for three state and local REALTOR® associations: Washington REALTORS® as the RPAC Fundraising Coordinator, the Tacoma Pierce County REALTORS® as Government Affairs Director, and Government Affairs Director for Oregon REALTORS®.

Over the span of her 12-year career, Taylor has been responsible for various REALTOR® advocacy programs, her favorite of which being building and improving the association’s RPAC culture. She resides in Bellevue, WA with her eight-year-old cocker spaniel named Chowder. She likes audiobooks, dog parks, and Costco. She dislikes ketchup, bugs, and the Discovery Channel’s hit show Gold Rush.

Bryan Greene is Vice President of Policy Advocacy at the National Association of REALTORS® where he oversees all legislative and regulatory advocacy on behalf of the association’s 1.4 million members. Bryan joined NAR in November 2019, and spent his first year at NAR raising the association’s profile in Washington and nationwide on all fair-housing-related policy matters as NAR’s first Director of Fair Housing Policy.Before joining NAR, Bryan served for ten years as the highest-ranking career official in HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO), where he oversaw the policy direction and operational management of the 600-person office enforcing the nation’s housing anti-discrimination laws. Under Bryan’s leadership as FHEO General Deputy Assistant Secretary, HUD pursued large-scale, high-profile cases that addressed systemic discrimination and provided widespread relief. Bryan also managed HUD’s Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) and HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), which together provide over $70 million to state and local government agencies and nonprofit organizations fighting discrimination in local communities.

Bryan has held other senior positions at HUD during his three decades at the agency, including a stint as the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs in HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), where he worked to reduce regulatory barriers to affordable housing.

Bryan was the 2007 recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, the highest federal honor bestowed upon federal senior executives for outstanding service.

Bryan earned his degree in Government from Harvard University.

Helen Devlin is the Senior Vice President, Advocacy Strategy and Operations. In this capacity, Helen develops and coordinates our strategic activities/agenda across Advocacy teams. Helen also leads the team responsible for Advocacy Communications, Political Meetings, Community Development Advocacy, and Advocacy Financial Affairs. She continues to lobby House Republican Congressional offices. She has been working in the Advocacy Group of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) in Washington, DC for over twenty years as part of the Lobbying Team. Prior to this, Helen served as the primary liaison for NAR to the Congressional delegations of six states, including Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Missouri.

Joe currently serves as Vice President of Government Advocacy, where he guides NAR’s federal lobbying and political strategy with regard to the U.S. Congress and White House. In Congress, he served two years as Counsel to former U.S. Senator and Vice-Presidential nominee, Joe Lieberman (CT), and six years as Legislative Assistant and later as Legislative Counsel to former House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (SC). He advised both Senator Lieberman and Congressman Spratt in the areas of tax, financial services, economic policy, budget and trade, among other issues.Joe is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and Davidson College, where he currently serves as a member of the Davidson College Board of Visitors. He is also a frequent guest presenter at the Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute and the Kogod School of Business at American University.

Vice President of Advocacy Communications and Outreach at NAR and co-host of The Advocacy Scoop podcast. Patrick joined NAR in 2019 to lead advocacy communications, media relations, and strategic messaging. Previously, he served as press secretary for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and spent nearly a decade on Capitol Hill as communications director and legislative adviser. Before Washington, Patrick was a news anchor and reporter across seven states.