Brownstein Adds Former State Department Senior Official Jessica Lewis as a Policy Director in Washington Office

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce that Jessica Lewis will join the firm as a policy director in the Government Relations Department. Lewis will be based in the Washington, D.C., office. 

“Jessica is a respected leader in foreign policy and defense, bringing a profound understanding of defense trade and national security. Her recent work at the State Department during unprecedented times includes increasing defense trade and deepening cooperation with critical U.S. partners and allies. With her extensive experience connecting executive agencies and the private sector, Jessica is uniquely equipped to navigate the complexities of today’s national security challenges and to build partnerships,” said Will Moschella, co-chair of Brownstein’s Government Relations Department. 

Lewis is a leader in foreign policy and defense. Her senior-level experience in the State Department and nearly 20 years in the Senate and House built her extensive knowledge of the political and legislative levers that determine national security policy, as well as government interactions with the defense industrial base. She employs wide-ranging strategies to help clients understand complicated foreign relations in recent conflict areas such as Ukraine and Israel, as well as U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan. As the Senate-confirmed assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, Lewis led the State Department’s political-military response to unprecedented international crises and oversaw foreign military and commercial sales of defense articles. She also was the staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the foreign policy and national security advisor to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). In these roles Lewis advised senators on Russia and Iran, sanctions issues, COVID-19 response, as well as oversaw the national defense and intelligence authorizations bills on the Senate floor. She was also a senior staffer on the House International Relations Committee.

Lewis received her bachelor’s degree from Haverford College, a MAT from John Hopkins University and an MPA from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.