Outdoor Industry Association Hires Kirk Bailey as Vice President of Government Affairs
OutdoorHub 05.07.12
Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has hired Kirk Bailey as vice president of government affairs. In this role, Bailey will lead the OIA government affairs department, establishing public policy goals and positions, directing OIA’s lobbying efforts, overseeing the activities of the OIA Political Action Committee, and directing grassroots initiatives.
Bailey will establish a new OIA office in Washington, D.C., in order to advance the outdoor industry’s recreation, trade and business policy agendas on Capitol Hill. He will oversee three OIA government affairs staff members who work out of the Boulder office.
Bailey is an attorney with more than 14 years of senior-level experience in government relations, legislative advocacy and political strategy. He started his career in advocacy working in the office of Senator Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), the Hawaii House of Representatives and the Oregon Legislative Assembly. After graduating from law school, Bailey became the director of the Office of Legislative and Community Relations for the University of Oregon, where he coordinated university relationships with the state legislature, office of the governor, Oregon executive agencies, units of local government and private industry.
For most of the past decade, Kirk served as counsel at Smith Dawson & Andrews (SDA), a Washington, D.C., public affairs firm where he directed government relations and policy development for a wide variety of clients, including the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones (NAFTZ); Valent USA; City of Eugene, Ore.; City of Boulder, Colo.; Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD); Lane Transit District; and the International Mountain Bicycling Association, among others.
Throughout his career, Bailey has collaborated with senior leadership groups — mayors, city councilors, county commissioners, executive directors, boards of directors — to plan, establish, coordinate and evaluate government relations programs and functions. He has worked extensively on conservation and recreation issues in Congress and with various federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Department of Energy.
“Kirk brings a wealth of experience in developing and bringing successful advocacy strategies before Congress and federal agencies on appropriations, education, public lands, energy, public safety, public health and transportation issues,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of OIA. “His strong strategic vision and depth of knowledge on diverse issues makes him an excellent choice to lead the OIA government affairs team into the future.”
“The outdoor industry has a great message that resonates with government leaders,” said Bailey. “I look forward to amplifying the industry’s voice to promote public policies that protect and enhance our places to play, and create a favorable business environment for our industry, which contributes so much to our nation’s economy.”
Bailey was born in Oregon and graduated from high school in Alaska. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oregon and then went on to complete his law degree at the University of Oregon School of Law. He is an avid outdoorsman, who loves mountain biking, alpine climbing and backpacking.
