TRP Oregon

Daniel Bates is an experienced government relations professional who has been lobbyist, client and a professional manager in a large city. Mr. Bates has built his practice helping public and private clients achieve their business objectives by partnering with government at all levels. He brings to Thorn Run Partners extensive lobbying experience and an intuitive understanding of client needs and expectations.

Mr. Bates joined Thorn Run Partners in 2010 after serving the City of Portland, Oregon as its Director of Government Relations. Previous to his tenure at the City of Portland, Mr. Bates was an attorney and lobbyist with the legislative practice group at Patton Boggs LLP, DC’s largest lobby shop.

Mr. Bates has represented large and small cities, counties, transit agencies, ports and state governments – helping his clients achieve both funding and policy goals. Mr. Bates has considerable expertise in pursing client objectives in Surface Transportation Authorization legislation, Water Resources Development Act legislation, annual appropriations legislation, and energy legislation. Non-profit and educational institutions have relied on Mr. Bates to help them navigate the annual appropriations process to secure federal partnership on innovative programmatic and capital projects. Mr. Bates has also worked with business clients seeking to introduce technology into markets by partnering with governments that act as purchaser, promoter and driver of the market through policy decisions.

Navigating projects that require government relations expertise at local, state and federal levels simultaneously is a significant component of Mr. Bates’s professional portfolio. With significant experience lobbying the Oregon State Legislature and Executive branch, Mr. Bates can assist public and private clients with interests in Oregon to achieve their goals. Mr. Bates is uniquely situated to guide clients through multiple levels of government, represent clients at the state and federal level, develop public private partnerships, and deliver top-notch client service. Mr. Bates received bachelors of arts degrees in Political Science and History at Houghton College in Houghton, New York and earned his juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.

When he’s not in Washington, DC, Mr. Bates lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Allison and two children.

Madeline Do joined Thorn Run Partners in January 2020 after graduating from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. Prior to Thorn Run, Ms. Do was a Donor Relations Intern at The Oregon Community Foundation and an Intern for U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley. Ms. Do volunteers with the Northwest Vietnamese Student Association (NWVSA), recently serving as an Executive Director for the NWVSA 2019 Leadership Summit.

Emily Eckert joined Thorn Run Partners in November of 2022, bringing policy advocacy experience from the public and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining Thorn Run, Emily worked as the Health and Housing AmeriCorps VISTA with Health Share of Oregon, a Medicaid coordinated care organization serving members in the Portland Metro Area. She managed the development, oversight, and implementation of a pilot project covering housing as a covered Medicaid benefit and supported strategic alignment for healthcare and housing system stakeholders.

Emily grew up in New Hampshire and graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and minors in Political Science, Legal Studies, and Women’s Studies. She previously interned on Capitol Hill for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and served as a Community Fellow for CASA of Cecil County.

Rachael Wiggins Emory brings a decade of experience in both legislative and local Oregon politics to her role. As the Mayor’s liaison to the Portland City Council, she took the lead on drafting Council documents and partnering with Council offices to adopt significant policy. As a member of the Thorn Run team, Rachael helps her clients achieve their goals by advocating for legislation and funding allocations, managing rulemaking responsibilities, and facilitating relationship-building. She brings expertise and experience in closely tracking legislation and working with elected officials, coalition partners, and stakeholders to ensure that priority policy issues are successfully passed and implemented.

Rachael leads much of the firm’s work on technology, social services, and behavioral health. She has secured millions of dollars for needed services, including funding for statewide outdoor school and expanded access to Oregon’s social services information and referral hotline. She was also instrumental in leading a coalition of stakeholders to pass significant updates to the State’s mental health parity laws, increasing access to behavioral health services for all Oregonians. Rachael takes pride in the lived experience she brings to her work, her ability to bring stakeholders together to develop and pass good policy, and maintaining her strong professional relationships at the state and local level.

Rachael holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Northwestern University. In addition to her work at Thorn Run Partners, she serves on the boards of nonprofits working in environmental conservation, reproductive rights, and human services. She enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and Betty White (her Great Pyrenees).

Tyler Janzen joined the Thorn Run Partners Oregon team in 2023, bringing with him substantial knowledge of state and local governments. He particularly enjoys advocating for client needs related to budget, finance, and revenue.

Tyler honed his expertise in Oregon’s budgeting process while serving for three years as Chief of Staff to Vice-Chair of the Ways and Means Committee in the Oregon State Legislature. He also served as Legislative Affairs Manager with the Association of Oregon Counties, where he advocated on behalf of county needs related to general governance, revenue, economic development, and veterans’ services. Through his county role, Tyler was Governor-nominated and Senate-confirmed to serve on Oregon’s Public Record Advisory Committee.

Tyler received the Philip Windsor Dissertation Prize from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2017 alongside his Master of Science degree in International Relations. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Affairs from Lewis & Clark College.

Tyler lives in Oregon City, OR, with wife, Ithaca; daughter, Ruby; and dog, Pimento. He’s an avid reader, average snowboarder, and huge believer in the life-changing power of international travel. His favorite countries visited so far include Thailand, Japan, and Croatia.

Katy McDowell joined Thorn Run Partners in 2021, bringing with her thirteen years of experience in state politics. Most recently, Katy served as the Operations Director of Government Relations at a respected Portland based law firm. Her professional background includes navigating all aspects of the Oregon lobbying and legislative process, with a focus on issues related to natural resources, transportation, business and labor, and technology.

Katy has supported clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to family-owned businesses. Katy brings extensive experience to advance clients’ government relations needs, including coalition management, tracking legislation, and political action monitoring and reporting. She also has experience coordinating campaign coalitions for candidates and ballot measures.

Katy received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Southern Oregon University. An outdoor enthusiast and native Oregonian, in her free time Katy can be found exploring the wonders of the Pacific Northwest with her family and two dogs.

Leah Navarro joined Thorn Run Partners in 2021 after graduating from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a focus on Public Policy and Political Action. She previously interned for Activate America as a campaign and project management member during the 2020 Presidential and U.S. Senate elections, undertaking outreach and engagement efforts to inform citizens about voting laws, candidates, and policy issues. Most recently, Leah worked as a legal intern at Cascade Energy, managing legislative and policy research related to business projects and development.

Elizabeth Remley joined Thorn Run Partners’ Oregon practice in 2012 and brings considerable experience working with Oregon’s state and local governments. Ms. Remley has represented corporations and nonprofits on a variety of policy issues, including economic development, environmental issues, healthcare, human services, land use, public infrastructure, state budgeting, taxes, technology and transportation.

Ms. Remley’s previous work includes representing a major hospital and delivery network, a mid-sized health plan, and numerous land use, technology, public infrastructure and transportation clients. On behalf of her clients, she contributed to the creation of Oregon’s health insurance exchange and helped establish the framework adopted to guide the state’s health care transformation. She was actively involved in passing Governor John Kitzhaber’s “Cool Schools” legislation, which established a funding mechanism for energy-efficient retrofits for public school buildings.

Ms. Remley came to Thorn Run Partners from Vox Public Relations Public Affairs, an Oregon-based communications firm, where she headed the state lobby practice. She began her career with CFM Strategic Communications, a Portland-based public affairs and public relations firm, where she managed legislation, rulemaking, and reputation- and relationship-building duties for numerous clients.

Ms. Remley holds a Bachelor of Science in economics and a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Oregon. She volunteers as the director of communications for the nonprofit academic mentoring program Minds Matter of Portland, where she also served as a mentor for three years.