ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Society of American Florists (SAF) announced that Shawn McBurney joined its staff starting Jan. 5 as the new senior director of government relations.
“Shawn has an impressive breadth and depth of experience in government relations having worked on the Hill, for the federal government, for a non-profit and a trade association,” said SAF COO Drew Gruenburg.
McBurney is the former senior vice president of governmental affairs at American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). In that role, he monitored federal legislative activities and represented the AH&LA on tax, labor, international business, and other legislative issues. McBurney served on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services and Finance Industries, which is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative, to represent AH&LA and the U.S. lodging industry.
Prior to AH&LA, McBurney was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001, to serve as associate administrator, Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs and senior advisor at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). In that capacity, he served as the congressional and intergovernmental advisor to the GSA Administrator, and supervised and maintained agency liaison with all Members of Congress, Congressional committees, and other federal agencies.
From 1991-2001, McBurney was director of government relations at Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), where he developed and managed the governmental outreach activities for the largest taxpayer watchdog group in the country. He served as special assistant to Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.), where he implemented legislative initiatives from 1993-1999; and prior to moving to Washington, D.C. to begin a career in politics, he worked as a commercial real estate agent in California from 1988-1991. McBurney holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA). He is an amateur historian and photographer, and has written articles and taken photographs for American Heritage magazine and other publications.
The Society of American Florists is the leading organization representing all segments of the floral industry. SAF is proud to provide marketing, business and government services to its members, including growers, wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, importers, educators, designers and allied organizations. The association was chartered by an act of Congress in 1884.
Source: The Society of American Florists
