Raben Announces New Government Oversight Team

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Raben, the largest majority people of color public affairs firm in the nation, is proud to announce that it will be expanding its offerings by adding a Government Oversight Team to assist organizations in preparing for and responding to oversight and investigations by Congress, the administration, state officials, or third-party entities.

"At a time when conservative attacks on nonprofit, philanthropic, and private-sector entities are expected to increase exponentially, Raben is ready to assist," said firm President and Founder Robert Raben. "Our experienced Government Oversight team is standing by to help prepare our partners to testify at hearings, work directly with the senior policymakers whom we know well, facilitate coalitions of allied organizations, implement crisis communications strategies to respond publicly to false and misleading allegations, and more."

“We are lawyers with Hill and government experience who know that this era requires careful attention to law and policy, with a serious communications, advocacy, and third-party wrap-around, which we possess,” said Raben

Raben Managing Principal Sarah Bolton and Principals Candyce Phoenix, Sunil Mansukhani, and Jeremy Paris (bios available below) will lead the new team. This senior team has over 50 years of experience in federal oversight and investigations, including efforts related to education, judicial nominations, civil and voting rights, criminal justice, immigration, law enforcement, eminent domain, the rise of violent white supremacy, and more.

This new endeavor will be a part of Raben's already robust Government Affairs offerings, which already include strategy development to help maximize resources in the most effective way possible; congressional advocacy and lobbying; relationship building with the executive branch; budget and appropriations advocacy; judicial and agency nominations; crafting and analyzing legislation, as well as policy agenda development; and developing, organizing, and driving coalitions.

Raben has offices in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles, Calif.; San Francisco, Calif.; New York, N.Y.; El Paso, Texas; and Cleveland, Ohio, as well as senior staff in Seattle, Wash.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Fort Worth, Texas.

--- staff biographies ---

Candyce Phoenix most recently served as the deputy attorney general for policy and legislative affairs for the D.C. Office of the Attorney General. She was previously senior counsel and senior advisor to the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, where she was a member of the senior management team and led investigative inquiries into social media companies, law enforcement, and violent militias. Candyce was also impeachment counsel to Congressman Jamie Raskin during the second impeachment of President Donald Trump. Before handling matters related to January 6, 2021, Candyce was Chairman Raskin's staff director for the House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, where she handled oversight efforts regarding voting rights, criminal justice, immigration, eminent domain, the rise of violent white supremacy, and the 2020 Census.

During her time as education policy director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee under Senator Patty Murray, Sarah Bolton oversaw the committee's oversight of the Department of Education, including the implementation of significant new initiatives like Race to the Top. Sarah also strategized with the department to respond to attacks on the agency. Senator Murray also served as chair of the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, and Sarah also helped conduct oversight of federal spending on key education and social service programs.

Sunil Mansukhani has conducted and supervised investigations at the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of Education over the course of three presidential administrations. His work has involved litigating civil rights cases on behalf of the United States and investigating complaints that arise through the administrative agency process. He has also led the response to numerous oversight requests from Capitol Hill.

As chief counsel for nominations and oversight on the Senate Judiciary Committee under Chairman Patrick Leahy, Jeremy Paris was responsible for the committee's oversight of the Department of Justice and the White House across two administrations, as well as the committee's handling of nominations to leadership positions at the Department of Justice, including attorney general. In those roles, Jeremy helped lead the committee's investigation of the politicized firing of United States Attorneys, as well as efforts to restore meaningful firewalls to protect the independence of federal law enforcement from White House interference and to ensure checks and balances against executive branch overreach.