the team

Hon. Tom Graves | President & CEO

As a north Georgia country boy, Tom’s life has been fueled by one slogan his father shared with him: Dream Big, Work Hard, and Achieve Much. He’s been a small business owner, a real estate investor, a Georgia State Representative and a member of Congress...

Jim Ervin | Chairman

Rhett Dawson | Principal

Crawford Horan | Associate Director

John Donnelly | COO

Joe Kasper | Senior Vice President

Joe is an experienced government affairs specialist with a unique and diverse background that provides clients with a higher-level of innovative and effective strategies...

Brian Yates | Senior Vice President

Brian is a former elected four term state legislator, attorney, proven advocate, and collaborator with a track record of success that has the drive and passion to win and execute on Capitol Hill....

John Blount | Senior Vice President

John is known for his expertise in the areas of aviation, defense, land use and animal conservation and health care. His clients have benefited over the years from his tenure on Capitol Hill...

Colby Miller | Principal

‍Colby provides our clients with the knowledge, contacts, and information needed to successfully promote their products and services to Federal and State government customers.

Jim Ervin

As an original founder of Ervin Hill Strategy, Jim works with each of our clients to coordinate a legislative agenda that fits their specific needs and interests. He utilizes his contacts on Capitol Hill and within the federal government to ensure our clients achieve their business objectives.

Jim served for 20 years in the U.S. Air Force where his assignments included systems program management, logistics management, and legislative affairs. He spent much of his career involved with international foreign military sales and was involved in two major aircraft system program offices. At one point he was also responsible for logistics support functions for aircraft sales in Europe, the Middle East, and South America.
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During the last half of his Air Force career, Jim was responsible for legislative affairs activities as the Air Force legislative liaison responsible for weapon systems legislation and the House liaison officer on Capitol Hill. His final assignment in the Air Force was as Director of House Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
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Jim has a track record in business and venture capitalism. Jim is one of the founders and a Member of the Board of the Scranton, Pennsylvania biotech firm Vital Probes, Inc., as well as a founding partner of Four Seasons Ventures, an early stage technology fund. Jim also served on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation in Washington, D.C.
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Notably, Jim was listed as one of the most influential lobbyists in Defense News‘ 2013 100 Most Influential People.

Tom Graves

As a north Georgia country boy, Tom’s life has been fueled by one slogan his father shared with him: Dream Big, Work Hard, and Achieve Much.
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He’s been a small business owner, a real estate investor, a Georgia State Representative and a member of Congress. As a U.S. Representative for more than a decade, he’s prioritized relationship building, pursuing creative solutions and executable strategies to address some of the biggest challenges facing our country, placing him in the center of all major policy decisions in Washington.
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As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House, overseeing more than a trillion dollars of annual spending, he has a unique understanding of the complexities of government funding, operations and the agencies at the forefront of change.
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As Vice Chair of the Special Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, he’s led the effort to modernize one of our nation's oldest institutions. Pushing the envelope and disrupting the status quo to get Congress working better for all Americans.
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When he’s not working in Washington, he’s back home in Ranger, running on the state’s beautiful roads and trails, planning a hunting trip, grilling out with the family or eating popcorn while binge watching Billions.

Rhett Dawson

Rhett joined Ervin Hill Strategy after 15 years as president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council. At ITI he recruited skilled board leaders from the technology industry, built the organization’s staff and created successful, high functioning collaborations among companies and associations in Washington and around the world.
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During his years in the Reagan White House, Rhett was Assistant to the President for Operations. In addition, Rhett was a key member of the late Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker’s team, that assisted in President Reagan’s comeback following the revelations of the Iran-Contra Scandal.
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Just prior to joining the White House staff, Rhett was Director of the President’s Special Review Board whose report detailed findings in the wake of the Iran-Contra affair.
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He has twice in his career been a partner in Washington law firms, assisting clients with various federal matters. Rhett took a leave of absence from law practice at Chairman David Packard’s request to be the Executive Director, of the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management. Under his leadership, the report and recommendations produced from the Commission still serve as a framework for much of how the Pentagon is organized and operates still today.

John Blount

John is known for his expertise in the areas of aviation, defense, land use and animal conservation and health care. His clients have benefited over the years from his tenure on Capitol Hill where he is currently considered a valued voice in Washington.
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Mr. Blount served as a senior aide to three Members of the House of Representatives. Later he joined the National Association of Realtors (NAR), where he served as the organization’s top Capitol Hill lobbyist. During that time, Mr. Blount worked extensively with the House Ways and Means Committee, the House Financial Services Committee, Energy and Commerce Committee, the Senate Finance and Banking Committees, while having full authority over the organization’s efforts within the Executive Branch.

After a decade with the NAR, and a stint with the Association of Private Pension and Welfare Plans, John was determined to break out on his own. As a founder of The National Group, an Appropriations lobbying firm, he represented many of the country’s finest academic institutions.

Longing to get back to his defense roots, John joined the Ervin Hill Strategy team in January of 2016. Since, he has continued representing a diverse client base that includes the National Sheriff’s Association, Industrial Safety Training Council of Texas, The Exotic Wildlife Association, and many other clients that need successful, experienced representation in complex regulatory and legislative initiatives pending before the Administration and the Congress.

Colby Miller

Colby provides our clients with the knowledge, contacts, and information needed to successfully promote their products and services to Federal and State government customers.
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Colby is an Iraq War veteran having conducted numerous riverine patrols in Iraq at the start of the war. His last tour in the Navy was on Capitol Hill as a Congressional Liaison for the House of Representatives where he escorted over 20 Congressional Delegations to nearly 30 countries across the globe.
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Colby began his work on Capitol Hill as a civilian in 2005 as Congressman Roscoe Bartlett’s Military Legislative Assistant. There he handled Chairman Bartlett’s defense authorization and appropriation matters and was his personal staff representative to the House Armed Services Projection Forces Subcommittee.

In 2007, Miller transitioned to the office of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to become her Defense and Foreign Policy Advisor. He managed the Senator’s issues on the Senate Appropriations Defense and Military Construction / Veterans Affairs Subcommittees and directed her Foreign Policy agenda.

Crawford Horan

As a vital member of the EGSG team, Crawford is the proverbial person who “keeps all the trains running on time.” Utilizing her operational management skills, she coordinates and executes the inner office functions that support the EGSG team’s interaction with a broadly diverse client portfolio.
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Since graduating from Sewanee with a degree in International Relations and History, Crawford’s experiences have uniquely equipped her. From interning in a congressional office to her current position working with elected officials and industry leaders, she has seen and experienced all sides of the policy making environment.
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Throughout these many roles, some things have remained consistent: her drive and dedication to the collective team and client success.

Joe Kasper

Joe is an experienced government affairs specialist with a unique and diverse background that provides clients with a higher-level of innovative and effective strategies. His extensive work and accomplishments over more than twenty years of federal service distinguishes him as a multifunctional operator with an ability to resolve complex challenges.
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Before joining EGS, Joe served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary for U.S. Senate Affairs and Senior Advisor for Strategy, Policy & Plans in the Department of Homeland Security. He joined the executive leadership team at DHS following almost three years in the Department of Defense, where he directly supported both the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Air Force, along with other leadership in the Pentagon and across the national security community.
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Joe began his career under the mentorship of former House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan L. Hunter, inspiring him to serve on Capitol Hill for nearly 15 years and culminating in service as a Chief of Staff to an influential member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. Joe honorably served in the U.S. Air Force, excelling in the field of aircraft maintenance, and holds a degree from the University of Connecticut.
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What Joe considers his greatest achievement and source of pride is his two sons, Jack and Nolan, and his wife Amanda.

John Donnelly

John joined EGSG after nearly 15 years of experience in government and politics. He is an experienced manager, advisor and strategic communicator who worked on a wide range of complex public policy challenges, with a special focus on annual federal spending legislation. He is also a spokesperson and writer who managed media relations for three different members of Congress.

As Chief of Staff from 2015-2021, John ran U.S. Rep. Tom Graves’ congressional operation, while also serving as the congressman’s appointee to the House Appropriations Committee. During that time, John collaborated with Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate to produce annual spending bills for the subcommittees on Financial Services and General Government, and the Legislative Branch. He also worked with Rep. Graves on the entire spectrum of legislation produced by the full House Appropriations Committee.
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Prior to that, John was Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, and later worked in Boston as a full-time campaign communications advisor and speech writer in the fall of 2012. He also served in congressional and political positions for U.S. Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, including working in Indianapolis as campaign manager for the successful 2010 primary.
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John earned his degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago with a double major in economics and political science. He and his wife, Christina, are Cubs season ticket holders and weekend Soul Cyclers. John has also been known to talk about his enthusiasm for Crossfit.

Brian Yates

Brian is a former elected four term state legislator, attorney, proven advocate, and collaborator with a track record of success that has the drive and passion to win and execute on Capitol Hill. He has developed and executed successful legislative and regulatory strategies in various policy areas and has been involved in politics for his entire career. Brian has established and maintained strong bi-partisan relationships with members and staff on various House and Senate Committees. He is a strong leader in corporate government affairs experience to make a difference.

-Implemented targeted giving strategies including corporate PAC management.

-Collaborated with internal and external stakeholders including regulatory agencies, public relations firms, trade associations, industry experts, think tanks, contract lobbyists, and the executive branch.

-Deep understanding of the financial services industry and stakeholders.

Brian thrives in an environment where he can strategize and influence decision making by engaging in a bi-partisan dialogue with key policy makers and decision makers.

the edge

The People | The Relationships | The Intel | The Actions | The Resolve

Frontline experience in Washington, in the rooms where decisions are made.

Fanned across the entirety of government, built over decades of work.

Gathering key information and shaping outcomes.

Strategic planning, communications, influence, advocacy, crisis management, coalitions.

Full commitment to every cause we undertake.

the story

the team

the proof