Heather is a General Counsel at The Messina Group.
She is a highly successful business lawyer, executive, and congressional aide with over fifteen years of proven leadership in High-Risk Business Law & Litigation, Strategic Planning & Implementation, Public Policy, International Law, Change Management, Contracts, Regulatory and Compliance, Employment Matters, Government Relations and Diversity Leadership.
Heather earned her JD from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., where she was on the Dean’s List and class graduation speaker. She earned her BS from the University of Evansville, in Evansville, Indiana, where she graduated magna cum laude. She was a Fellow in the Women’s Executive Leadership Program at The Impact Center in Washington, D.C., and is a current member of the Bar in California, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Heather has successfully protected clients’ rights and advanced the public interest. Her counseling is based on a deep commitment to understanding the challenges a company faces and the importance of making an effort to do something about it. She is known for being collegial, fair, and collaborative and as a commanding figure in the boardroom, the courtroom, and at the negotiating table.
Prior to joining The Messina Group, she was a partner at top global litigation law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, where she co-founded the firm’s crisis management and government response practice. Heather represented clients in a wide range of complex corporate legal and social issues, litigation matters, public policy and government matters, and regulatory proceedings, focusing on practical counseling based on each client’s unique business needs.
She joined Boies Schiller Flexner from the U.S. Congress, where she served as a Senior Advisor to Hillary Clinton, leading Senator Clinton’s executive office and her related campaigns, including the crisis response to the events of 9/11.
Heather is a prominent participant in the local business community. She has helped lead boards and advisory committees for the international women’s leadership organization Vital Voices Global Partnership, the National Women’s Law Center, Women Under Forty Political Action Committee, training young women for political leadership organization Running Start, anti-human trafficking organization FAIR Girls, and the Clinton Foundation.
Heather currently resides in Silicon Valley, CA, with her husband and two children, where she serves on the Board of the Woodside School District Foundation.