Meet Our Expert – Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO

State and Federal Communications is thrilled to be celebrating its 32^nd anniversary this month. During this time there have been a wide range of changes that the company has adapted to and grown to meet. However, the one common thread that has remained steadfast throughout is our President and CEO, Elizabeth Bartz. The company is now thriving and working with some of the biggest names across many industries in the U.S., but it wasn’t always this prominent. Elizabeth had to work hard for what her company has become.

In 1993, Elizabeth was looking for a change. She was working at State and Federal Associates in Washington D.C. and was ready to move back home to Akron, Ohio. As it turns out, her employer was also looking for a change and approached Elizabeth with an interesting offer.

“They approached me because they were thinking of closing my department and asked me if I was interested in buying it and moving it to Akron. My other choice was coming back and managing a Subway store with my father. I had 10 years in managing a compliance department and I was good at it, so it was an easy decision, but a risk… and I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”

Elizabeth was up for the challenge of making something altogether new to the industry, a company solely focused on lobbying compliance. However, it was a big risk moving it back home to Akron from the hub of activity that is Washington D.C. State and Federal Communications was born, with Elizabeth at the helm, quite a few obstacles to overcome, and a small eager staff.

Through persistence and a lot of networking, Elizabeth made her company a success and began to grow a reputation as reliable and precise. As the company has grown one quality, perhaps above all others, has helped Elizabeth to make her business a success – the ability to connect with people and help fill their needs. This has manifested itself in many ways, both within business, and with philanthropic giving within the local community. This spirit of giving has become a cornerstone within the culture of State and Federal Communications with its Corporate Social Responsibility Program. The CSR program has become so integral that it has projected the company into the top 10 corporate givers to United Way within Summit County.

 “Especially now, with everything going on, we need people to help other people… We provide charitable service hours for any employee who gives .5% or 1% of their compensation. This becomes a win-win with United Way of Summit and Medina County receiving the financial benefit and the employee’s choice of charity receiving their charitable hours.”

Elizabeth’s personal giving focus is very diverse, but one of the causes closest to her heart is education. Helping to fund scholarships and grants through The John S. Knight Foundation, Akron Urban League, and Akron Press Club are among her passions. Another passion of Elizabeth is helping others to succeed both in her industry and within the local community. This passion has helped her staff develop professionally, and in turn allowed a relatively small staff of compliance professionals to make State and Federal Communications into the gold standard in lobbying, procurement lobbying, and political giving compliance.

Today, State and Federal Communications boasts a large online database of federal, state, and municipal legislative codes. The company has come a long way since Elizabeth’s scrappy start-up sent out loose-leaf binder guidebooks and helped clients in navigating the information via telephone. Through maintaining excellent relationships with clients; unwavering attention to detail in the service provided; and an uncanny ability to network with decision makers State and Federal Communications was able to make its presence felt in the industry and its services indispensable to many.

At the center of State and Federal Communications’ success is Elizabeth, keeping the company striving toward what is needed by clients and innovating to stay ahead of the curve. Today, clients have more needs, with the ever-changing compliance guidelines, and State and Federal Communications continues to adapt to being more of a full-service business partner rather than just a service provider.

The future is bright at State and Federal Communications, and Elizabeth, as always, has her eye on it. The company has begun a five-year transition into becoming an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) with Elizabeth once more leading the way.

“I want to make sure I’m taking care of my people. Over the years I have worked hard to help many of my staff to become the future leaders this company needs to not only succeed but thrive. I am very excited to see what the future brings for State and Federal Communications.”