Megan Cryan Bell
N.J. State President and EVP of Public Affairs
Moxie Strategies
Moxie Strategies has grown fast and Cryan has been a big reason why. Two years after Maggie Moran founded the Asbury Park firm, PRovoke Media ranked it the world’s best new agency. Cryan leads its New Jersey operation, which lists energy and utilities among its core practice areas. She joined in late 2024 from Avóq, where she ran clean energy campaigns, and she has led high-profile efforts in health care, labor and energy.
Angelo Genova
Co-Founder and Chairman
Genova Burns
Genova has built Genova Burns into one of New Jersey’s go-to firms where law meets government. Its energy and utility practice includes serving as general counsel to the New Jersey Energy Coalition. That coalition pushes for relicensing the state’s nuclear plants, adding clean baseload power and upgrading transmission and distribution lines. With more than four decades in practice, Genova is a former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and was general counsel to Gov. Jim Florio’s campaign.
Laura Matos
Partner
MAD Global Strategy
Matos was the first person to join Mike DuHaime when he launched MAD Global Strategy in 2022. Since then, the bipartisan Montclair firm has nearly tripled its staff in a single year and expanded into New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Energy is one of its biggest focus areas. Matos, a key part of its Trenton operation, also chairs the New Jersey Pinelands Commission and served as a Senior Advisor to Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s transition. Earlier, she spent eight years in the Governor’s Office.
Michael Soliman
President
Mercury
Mercury promoted Soliman to President in June, putting him in charge of national growth and strategy at one of the country’s largest bipartisan public strategy firms. Mercury is owned by Omnicom and has 15 offices from New Jersey to California. Soliman joined in 2013 and built its New Jersey and Pennsylvania operations. He is a former State Director for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and an adviser to U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Rob Menendez, and he teaches public policy at Rutgers’ Bloustein School.
Matt Stanton
Partner
MBI
Stanton helps run MBI GluckShaw, the Trenton public affairs firm that sits steps from the State House. It calls itself one of New Jersey’s largest, offering lobbying, regulatory work, procurement and community outreach. A partner since 2003, he focuses on transportation, engineering, infrastructure and health care clients. He brings more than 30 years in public affairs, including serving as Chief of Staff at NJ Transit and working for New York City’s MTA.
John Valeri
Co-Chair, Environmental Law Group
CSG Law
Valeri co-leads the environmental practice at Roseland-based Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, helping clients get the permits and approvals that complex energy and infrastructure projects need. Few lawyers know New Jersey’s energy rules from more angles. He was acting general environmental counsel at PSEG and Chief of Staff at the state Board of Public Utilities. As counsel to Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, he helped negotiate the state’s electric deregulation law. He has served on the state’s Clean Air Council since 2015, chairing it from 2018-21.
