About

Advisory Council

Our Advisory Council brings together experienced voices from public service, policy, and industry to guide the Alliance’s work.

Cheri Bustos

A former senior member of congressional leadership, Cheri Bustos brings decades of experience across politics, journalism, healthcare, and communications. Representing Illinois' 17th Congressional District for five terms, she served as Co-Chair of the Steering and Policy Committee, Co-Chaired the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, and sat on the powerful Appropriations, Agriculture, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. As Chairwoman of the DCCC, she helped raise a record-breaking one-third of a billion dollars, and she founded Build the Bench and is a Founding Board Member of Elect Democratic Women. A 2023 Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics and a 2024 Fellow at the Dole Institute of Politics, she holds degrees from the University of Maryland and the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Carl Thorsen

Carl Thorsen has worked on and around Capitol Hill for his entire 35-plus-year career, pairing deep experience in the legislative and political processes with a wide set of bicameral, bipartisan relationships. The Hill newspaper has named him one of the profession’s “Top Lobbyists” annually for over a decade. Until 2005 he served as General Counsel to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, his top legal advisor on Judiciary and Homeland Security matters. In 2004 he spent six months in Baghdad with the Coalition Provisional Authority as Senior Advisor for Border Enforcement. Earlier, as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legislative Affairs, he was a key liaison with Congress and received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service for his work on the Patriot Act of 2001. He co-founded Radius Advocacy and earned a B.S. from the University of Scranton and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law.

Daniella Landau

Daniella Landau is a recognized strategist with a deep understanding of policymaking in Washington, major state and local jurisdictions, and key international markets. Her expertise includes emerging technologies, infrastructure development, transportation, and smart cities solutions. She has held senior roles at American Airlines and at leading policy and communications firms, served as media director for a leading Democratic political consulting firm, and worked on President Bill Clinton’s official transition team earlier in her career. A native of Brazil, Daniella has also led nonprofit campaigns in Latin America for Child Hope International and the Center for Democracy.

Mike McKay

Mike McKay is the Founder and Managing Partner of Empire Consulting Group, a public policy consulting firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Miami whose clients include some of the most recognizable Fortune 100 companies, on issues spanning healthcare, financial services, energy, telecommunications, and emerging technologies. He previously spent nearly a decade on Capitol Hill as Senior Policy Advisor, Counsel, and Political Director for a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. Earlier in his career, he served as a government and community relations liaison for John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia Airports at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He is a graduate of St. John’s University.