Diane Evans, Founder, Principal, and Chief Strategist – Leveraging a lifetime in politics, finance, and accounting, Diane launched Evans & Katz LLC in 1996 to build a more responsive campaign compliance business model and to create a more flexible workplace for people who love politics. As the Principal of E&K, Diane has the company under her wing, keeps her eye on the big picture, and advises clients on their most sensitive political and financial matters. Diane also oversees E&K's Special Projects Division, a highly-regarded department comprised of former FEC auditors who assist clients in the areas of crisis management, FEC and state audit representation, fraud audits, and forensic compliance.

• Diane managed her first successful class officer campaign at age nine, and she managed her first successful city-wide race at the age of 21.
• Prior to founding E&K, Diane served for 15 years in senior leadership positions for three Members of the House of Representatives.
• She has extensive experience in crisis management working closely with a number of leading law firms, the FEC, the FBI, and the Justice Department in developing strategies for defense and prosecution matters related to campaign finance and ethics laws.
• She has been involved in the campaign strategy and fundraising efforts of a host of incumbents and challengers at all levels of government.
• Previously Diane was an Accounting Supervisor and Human Resources Specialist with a Fortune 500 company.
• She earned a B.S. in Labor and Industrial Relations with a minor in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin and has completed extensive coursework in Non-Profit Development at George Washington University.

Jennifer Lebin, Director of PAC/State Compliance – As Director of E&K's PAC/State Compliance Division, Jennifer oversees a team of four Client Managers who work together seamlessly to provide campaign finance and compliance consulting services to state and federal political action committees as well as other non-profit organizations. Prior to joining E&K, Jennifer worked in the government relations department of the nation's largest Jewish and largest women's membership organization, where she served as a lobbyist and participated in public policy education and advocacy surrounding issues of domestic concern to women and the Jewish community. She also worked on Wisconsin state legislative campaigns and is a member of several women's and political organizations. Jennifer earned a Masters degree from George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, and holds Bachelor's degrees in political science from Columbia University and in Jewish History from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she graduated with honors. She joined E&K in 2003.

Scott Stein, Director of Candidate Committee Compliance - Scott serves as E&K's Director of Candidate Committee Compliance. In this capacity, Scott manages a team of seven Client Managers and Compliance Specialists who provide consulting services to federal, state, and local campaign committees on issues related to campaign finance compliance and reporting. In addition to his broad experience with Evans & Katz, Scott has provided campaign finance consulting services to the John Kerry Presidential campaign and several high-profile U.S. Senate, gubernatorial, and mayoral races. Prior to his work in politics, Scott was the business manager at an employment recruitment agency. He also worked at Catalyst, a non-profit research and advisory organization that works with businesses to promote women in management. Scott earned a master's degree in Business Administration from Baruch College and a bachelor's degree from Lafayette College. Scott joined E&K in 2003.

Rick Halter, Director of Special Projects — As Director of Special Projects, Rick leads all Evans & Katz' work related to FEC audit representation, internal fraud audits and operational reviews, complex past-cycle financial reconciliations and other matters requiring the highest levels of sensitivity and understanding of FEC rules and regulations. Rick and his team have identified and documented instances of criminal activity within a variety of organizations and shared findings with the FBI and Department of Justice resulting in numerous indictments, convictions, and plea agreements. Prior to joining Evans & Katz, Rick served as Deputy Assistant Staff Director for Audit in the FEC's Audit Division for 23 years. He served an additional 3 years with the FEC and the US Senate's Office of Public Records. All told, Rick has more than 35 years of experience with the Federal Elections Campaign Act. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

Christine Brewer, Special Projects Manager – Christine has worked with the E&K Special Projects Division for nearly six years performing complex reconciliations, advising clients on how to improve their internal accounting and compliance procedures along with developing internal checklists, intake forms, policy and procedure manuals as well as various audit questionnaires used by E&K staff. Her superb organizational, managerial and writing skills have been a tremendous asset to E&K and its clients. In addition to 5 years as an auditor with the Federal Elections Commission, Christine served as Finance Consultant, Assistant Treasurer and Controller of the Mondale for President and Mondale/Ferraro Campaign. She also worked as an Accountant and Management Consultant for Ross, Langan & McKendree in Virginia and Ernst & Young in Washington, DC. Christine holds a B.A. and an M.A. in English from the University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio and an M.S. in Accounting from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Cathy Stokes, Special Projects Manager - Cathy has 20 years of financial management, analysis, software development, process re-engineering, problem solving, and FEC financial auditing experience. Previously, Cathy spent 11 years in management positions at Bank of America where she designed and delivered business requirements training materials across numerous divisions; created an automated delivery, decision-making, and tracking solution resulting in $2 million in annual revenues; automated payroll tax reporting processes resulting in faster and more accurate corrections to employee documents and corporate tax reports; and created comprehensive planning and reporting procedures for senior management minimizing the time required for the annual and monthly budget process while improving the accuracy of planning and reporting. Cathy was also the Principal of Stokes Consulting, an FEC Finance Consulting firm specializing in performing audits and reconciling out-of-balance conditions for Federal Candidates. Cathy is Six Sigma Green Belt certified and participated in a Premier Referral Green Belt Project and a Requirements Management Design for Six Sigma Project. She earned a BS in Business Management with a Concentration on Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin in 1983, and she was a Study Abroad Program Participant, for two semesters, in Paris and Reims, France.

Beth Eder, Client Manager – Beth joined E&K in July 2005 starting in the Special Projects Division reporting directly to Rick Halter, the former Deputy Staff Director of the FEC's Audit Division. Beth worked closely with Rick performing reconciliations and representing Committees being audited by the FEC. Currently, she provides consulting services to labor, corporate, and leadership PACs on issues relating to FEC compliance and reporting. Prior to joining E&K, Beth worked as the Director of Asset Management for a Real Estate Investment Firm in Chicago, IL, where she was responsible for negotiating client contracts, conducting the due diligence for acquired investments and managing the portfolio of investments for the firm. She earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, in Chicago, IL, and she received her Bachelor's Degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.

Melissa Nissen, Client Manager – Melissa Nissen joined E&K in 2006, and she currently serves as a Client Manager to a variety of House incumbents and high-profile challengers. She is also deeply experienced in the contributor vetting process, contribution caging, contribution uploads and has worked with the E&K Special Projects Division on complex financial reconciliations and subsequent amendment preparation. Prior to joining the E&K team, Melissa worked as a Professional Stage Manager AEA, ran a social program for at-risk families, taught middle and high school Language Arts, and was the office manager and grant writer for a homeless shelter. Melissa attended University of Wisconsin-Parkside and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Theatre with an emphasis in design.

Dana Parness, Client Manager - Dana joined E&K in 2007. Previously, she was the Public Affairs Manager for the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP), a non-profit organization with the mission to eliminate adolescent pregnancy in Georgia. Her role was to coordinate the organization's communications, advocacy, and legislative efforts. Prior to that, Dana was Project Manager at Smart Start Georgia where she developed and implemented strategies to build a strong grassroots campaign in support of improving early childhood education in Georgia. Dana received her M.A. in Political Management from George Washington University and a B.A. in Political Science/Sociology from Emory University.

Cassie Tinsmon, Client Manager – Located in New York City, Cassie currently serves as the Client Manager to several large Political Action Committees and senior House leadership candidate committees. She has also worked on behalf of a variety of 501(c)4 entities. Prior to joining E&K, Cassie served as a fundraising consultant and Finance Director for a number of non-profits and state and federal political committees. She also served as a senior policy and strategy advisor to several federal candidates. In addition to finance and compliance, she has professional experience in grassroots organizing, policy research and lobbying. Cassie graduated from Wichita State University with degrees in Social Work and Psychology.

Vicky Simpson, Client Manager - After completing her studies in Cultural Anthropology at University of Maryland Baltimore County, Vicky returned to her true calling -- politics. In recent years she has provided compliance services to more than two dozen PACs, candidate committees, and joint fundraising committees. From contribution processing and donor communication to disclaimer language advice and report reviews, Vicky has always been enthusiastic about providing her clients with a sense of security and confidence in their compliance staff. A native of the Washington, D.C., region, Vicky has a passion for highlighting the best parts of her city. Prior to entering the field of compliance, she worked with DC area dance companies to help bring the arts back into public schools by teaching dance in after school programs and in-school residencies.

Paul Fullmore, Washington D.C., Office Manager - Paul is the consummate team player. As Manager of the Washington D.C. office, Paul keeps things running smoothly, and he plays a variety of roles at E&K, including providing client support, assisting with check requests and other internal needs, and racing to Capitol Hill to make deliveries and to meet last-minute deadlines. If you need something done at the last minute, he's the guy to call. Paul's previous work experience includes an internship position at C-SPAN, a stint at the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, and working in a variety of retail and sales positions. Paul recently received a Masters of Education degree in Instructional Technology at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. He holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Communication Media from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, and he also studied Business Management at Shaw University, Raleigh, NC.