ABOUT JACK

President and Founder of A2W

Jack Bonner has worked with the officers and CEOs of more than one hundred major corporations and associations, constructing and executing innovative public affairs strategies across America on corporate reputation, product marketing, legislative, regulatory issues and crisis management efforts.

His success is due largely to the innovative business development model that he created, which applies classic entrepreneurial marketing techniques to the selling of public affairs services, an approach not often seen in the Washington political sector.

Bonner has been called the “pioneer” of successful grassroots efforts by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.  Fortune magazine referred to Bonner as the “guru of grassroots,” and National Public Radio called Bonner the “king of grassroots.”  Bonner has also been featured on “Nightline” and “The CBS Evening News." He has been featured on CSPAN and in the books 'Showdown at Gucci Gulch' and 'The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point.'

Bonner founded Bonner & Associates in 1984, which was the first firm in America dedicated exclusively to corporate grassroots organizing.  For over twenty years, Bonner’s firm has created grassroots campaigns for the country’s largest corporations, with a winning track record of 75%.  Bonner’s strategic efforts have helped clients prevail in battles concerning state and federal legislation, regulation, zoning, litigation, products and services.

Clients range from many Fortune 500 firms, major associations and non-profits on a wide array of issues. Bonner has conducted campaigns in all 50 states.

Bonner has broadened his firm’s reach by starting A2W, Advocacy to Win, specializing in third party advocacy efforts using a variety of tools like social media, news media, meetings and advertisements to help clients achieve their goals. Applications of this advocacy has ranged from business-to-business contract renewal campaigns targeting boards of directors tp product marketing and reputational, legislative and regulatory efforts.

Bonner began his career as the head of public relations for the City of Tucson, Arizona, where he was the youngest department head in the city’s history.  He created and hosted two prime time television shows and hosted a weekly radio show carried on multiple stations.  He began his career in politics at the Republican National Committee’s communications office and then moved to Capitol Hill, where he first served as press secretary and then as top political aide to the late U.S. Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania. Heinz sat on the Senate’s Finance and Banking Committees and served as Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Bonner was an adjunct professor at American University’s Center for Presidential and Congressional Studies for over fifteen years, where he taught a course he created on grassroots lobbying. A popular speaker, Bonner has been a guest lecturer at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, The U.S. Naval War College and many corporate, charitable and academic forums.