How to Build Relationships with Freshman Congressional Offices

A Conversation with Brad Fitch Hosted by The Sunwater Institute and Legis1

Register Now

    Agenda

    Day 1

    • Date: July 1, 2025
    • Time: 12:00-12:30
    • Location: Zoom

    Day 2

    • Date: July 2, 2025
    • Time: 12:00-12:30
    • Location: Zoom

    Webinar Summary

    In January 2023, at the start of the 118th Congress, more than half of the members of the House of Representatives waiting to be sworn in had four years of experience or less in the Congress. For citizen-advocates, this means they frequently have a fresh crop of elected officials just waiting for their constituents to reach out. The opportunity for advocates and groups is that most freshmen legislators have not yet taken a firm position on most of the issues they’ll consider. In this webinar participants will learn how the operations of freshman offices are different than veteran offices; how to build relationships with the new members of Congress and staff; and tips for how to connect with lawmakers in their local districts.

    Speaker Bio:

    Bradford Fitch is the former CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. He has spent 40 years in Washington as a journalist, congressional aide, consultant, college instructor, Internet entrepreneur, and writer/researcher. He is a leading trainer of citizen-advocates in the U.S., with more than 50,000 Americans participating in one of his programs. Fitch worked on Capitol Hill for 13 years as press secretary, legislative director, and chief of staff. From 2001-2005 he served as Deputy Director of CMF. He left CMF in 2006 to form a new company, Knowlegis, now a part of FiscalNote. He returned to CMF in 2010, where he served 14 years as CEO.

    Fitch also is the author of Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials and Media Relations Handbook for Agencies, Associations, Nonprofits and Congress. His work and interviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CBC News, NPR, among others. He taught journalism and public communications at American University in Washington, D.C, where he served an adjunct Associate Professor of Communications.