Larry D. Meyers

President, has over 35 years of experience since coming to Washington with then Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX), former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. After four years with the senator, serving as legislative director, he received an appointment in the Carter Administration being named Director for Congressional Affairs - U.S. Department of Agriculture, responsible for both USDA and White House lobbying activities. He began independent consulting in 1981, and in 1989 was named by Beacham's Guide to Key Lobbyists as one of the top 125 lobbyists out of the several thousand in Washington. For the last twelve years, he has served as guest lecturer at the National Defense University on the topic of "Lobbyists and Lobbying in the U.S. Capitol." Larry also serves on the Board of Directors of Washington First Bank in Washington, D.C.

Richard (Rick) L. Meyers

Partner, joined the firm in 1987 and has 20 years of legislative and regulatory experience. He has worked extensively on issues affecting cities and universities with the U.S. Congress, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture, Justice Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Energy, Department of Education, Federal Aviation Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency. He has also worked with the officials at the U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center on product promotion. His activities on behalf of clients include university research grants, appropriations, education issues, transportation reauthorization, infrastructure funding for cities, base closure issues, telecommunication issues, HUD grants, and product promotion. He is a graduate of Texas Tech University. 

Francis (Fran) James Boyd, Jr.

Sr. Vice President, joined the firm in 1990 after serving as Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the Farm Credit Administration, an independent federal financial regulatory agency. Prior to that appointment, he was the Deputy Director of Congressional Affairs for six years during the Reagan Administration at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He brings to the firm over 20 years of Washington experience having worked extensively with Congress and at the highest levels of the executive branch of government. He holds both a graduate and undergraduate degrees from Arizona State University, and has completed the Senior Managers in Government Program from the Kennedy School for Government at Harvard University.

Irina Kolontay Emerson

Senior Associate, Irina joined the firm in 2002.  Irina’s responsibilities include working with congress and federal agencies on issues pertaining to defense energy, and homeland security research, emergency responder funding and training, surface transportation programs, higher education policy, and health care grants. Additionally, Irina serves as the firm’s in-house systems administrator. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from West Texas A&M University. While in college, Irina served as president of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapter and received Student Organization President of the Year award during her senior year. She continues her involvement with the organization and serves on the SIFE Business Advisory Board. Irina was raised in the former Soviet republic of Belarus and is fluent in Russian and Belarussian.

Shelley Myers

Senior Associate, Shelley joined the firm in 1988 and has over eighteen years of legislative and federal agency experience. She has worked extensively with the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the newly created Department of Homeland Security. While working on behalf of the firm's major higher education clients, she has also worked very closely with several states' congressional delegations and numerous committees in Congress. Her activities on behalf of the firm's clients have involved issues dealing with engineering, energy, defense, oil and gas, first responder training, and all areas of university research. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Texas A&M University and served as a teacher at an international boarding school in Salzburg, Austria before coming to Washington, DC.

Jennifer G. Shepard

Associate. Prior to relocating to the Washington, D.C. area, Jennifer served as the program manager and executive for The Houston Partnership, the leading business advocacy organization in Houston, Texas. Jennifer was responsible for managing the multiple aspects of the organization's air quality program designed to bring the region into attainment with the federal ozone standard as required by the federal Clean Air Act. She worked extensively with local, state and federal elected officials as well as state and federal regulatory agencies. Jennifer was also instrumental in the creation and ongoing management of a statewide public/private sector coalition to advance the development of a major national infrastructure project. She helped lead the development of federal legislation to facilitate the project's development. As a result of addressing both environmental and transportation issues affecting the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country, she has developed a keen understanding of the relationship between environmental policies and transportation programs. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary and a Consulting Associate degree from Main Event Management, Inc.

Dustin Bryant

Associate. Mr. Bryant joined the firm in 2007.  His responsibilities include work on both agriculture and university issues. Dustin serves as liaison to the Agriculture Program of the Texas A&M University System. He has a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Development and earned a Certificate in International Agricultural Trade from Texas A&M University. Mr. Bryant worked with programs with emphasis on Food for Peace, Food for Progress and 416(b) with a focus on Tunisa. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Bryant served as Field Representative for U.S. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15). In addition to his service with the Congressman, Mr. Bryant has had experience in Europe and Northern Africa.

Lauren Pickering

Administrative Assistant.  Lauren Pickering joined Meyers & Associates in October 2009. Lauren has a background in Western State and Federal politics; having worked as a Federal Relations Associate at Strategies 360, and as a Finance Assistant for Senator Max Baucus’ successful 2008 campaign committee. Lauren served as the Deputy Director of Finance & Operations of the Montana Democratic Party during the 2006 campaign cycle to elect Jon Tester to the U.S. Senate. As the Montana State Chair of Freedom’s Answer, Lauren helped lead a national youth voter turnout movement while a senior in high school. Lauren graduated from The George Washington University with a degree in Political Science & Public Policy. A native of the Treasure State, Lauren is a fourth generation Montanan and grew up in Helena.

Madelyn Ikeda

Administrative assistant.  Madelyn R. Ikeda joined Meyers & Associates in May 2010. Prior to relocating to Washington, DC, she worked for Air Force Research Laboratories on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Madelyn graduated from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor's in Political Science, emphasis in Pre-Law, and a Bachelor's in Psychology. While attending UNM, she assisted in psychological studies with Carrie Tingley Hospital's Pediatric Behavioral Medicine Clinic, the MIND Institute of New Mexico, and the State University of New York-Plattsburg Department of Psychology. In May 2009, she was awarded the UNM School of Medicine's Signature Program in Child Health Research apprenticeship, where she was granted the opportunity to conduct her own research on psychological trauma and how it relates to English fluency in refugee children and adolescents from Africa.

Outside Associates

Also actively associated with Meyers & Associates are: