Rhett Buttle launches new firm Public Private Strategies & Joins the Aspen Institute as Senior Fellow

Public Private Strategies • November 16, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 16, 2017

communications@publicprivatestrategies.com


Washington, D.C.—Rhett Buttle announced today that he will launch Public Private Strategies , a consulting firm that will focus on bringing business voices to the policy table on a wide variety of policy issues. In addition, Rhett will also will join the Aspen Institute as a senior fellow in the Financial Security Program. His work at The Aspen Institute will focus on economic security and issues of reconnecting work and wealth.


Katie Wonnenberg will be joining Rhett as principal and counselor to the firm, making the two a bipartisan duo. In her role, Katie will leverage her years of expertise in advising self-employed and small business owners in key areas, which will ensure Public Private Strategies is set up for success from day one. Katie will also continue to represent and serve the National Association for the Self Employed (NASE) as vice president of government relations and public affairs. Together, Rhett and Katie have decades of experience organizing economic and business leaders.


“For nearly seven years, I have touted how important and rewarding the self-employment experience is and can be for millions of Americans. I am thrilled to support Rhett and Public Private Strategies in this exciting endeavour,” stated Katie Wonnenberg.


Rhett joins both The Aspen Institute and Public Private Strategies after a trip around the world where he and his partner saw all seven (wo)man made Wonders of the World. Before his wanderlust days, he most recently was the business director for Secretary Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid. Rhett was also appointed to the Obama Administration where he served on the White House Business Council and as the director of private sector engagement in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During his time in the federal government, Rhett was the main liaison between the Secretary's office and the business community, working to engage the private sector on a variety of policy issues, including the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He played key roles in many of the administration's public-private partnerships. Rhett has also held several roles in the business advocacy community, including serving as president and managing director of the Small Business Majority, an advocacy organization for entrepreneurs.


“Now more than ever, business is playing a critical role in our public conversation," said Rhett Buttle, founder and principal of Public Private Strategies. “I couldn’t think of any better way to represent the business community than by becoming a business owner myself and working with an amazing institution like the Aspen Institute to help bring private sector solutions to our country’s challenges.”


“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Rhett on our team. Rhett has built his career on cultivating private sector leadership on some of the most critical social issues that underpin economic inclusion and security, bringing the business community together with other sectors in strategic and pragmatic ways to solve problems. Rhett’s skills will help bring our work on economic opportunity and financial security to a new level,” said Ida Rademacher, vice president at the Aspen Institute and executive director of the Institute’s Financial Security Program.


Buttle’s fellowship with Aspen begins this November. Public Private Strategies, while already working on several projects for the last few months, officially launches today.


About Public Private Strategies

Public Private Strategies (PPS) is a consulting firm that is focused on where the public and private sectors meet. We have decades of experience organizing economic leaders – from small business owners to Fortune 100 executives – to engage in public policy and coalition building. This experience, coupled with our long-term working relationships with national, state, and local business organizations makes PPS uniquely positioned to support our partners in scaling their business engagement efforts. You can learn more about us here: https://www.publicprivatestrategies.com/


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