Mr. Gonella brings to Cornerstone Government Affairs over fifteen years of experience and specialized knowledge in the development, implementation and management of campaign strategies in the fields of government relations and public affairs communications. In addition to his client work at Cornerstone, Mr. Gonella serves as the firm’s president. In that capacity, he manages the day-to-day operations of the business and oversees all aspects of the firm. Prior to forming Cornerstone Government Affairs in 2002, Mr. Gonella, with a concentration in government relations and grassroots lobbying, spent 10 years at the largest independent government relations firm in Washington, D.C. In his capacity as Senior Vice President for Business Development and Marketing, Mr. Gonella was responsible for the design, implementation and management of all facets of the company’s business development and marketing activities and managed a staff of senior professionals and dozens of business development consultants. During this time, he directed several consecutive years of record growth and worked as part of the firm’s management team. Previously, Mr. Gonella served as Vice President and Director of Marketing for a Washington, D.C.-based grassroots communications, public relations and political consulting firm. Mr. Gonella is very active in the community and has been involved in various campaigns for Democratic candidates at the local, state and federal levels. He also serves on the Board of Directors for several organizations including ElderLife Financial, LLC, Kids Voting USA, VDI Telecom Consultants and The First Tee of Washington, D.C. Mr. Gonella, a native Washingtonian, holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland.