She leads the Chamber’s political programming, which includes voter education and advocacy, candidate endorsements, and the U.S. Chamber PAC. She also develops and executes external issue advocacy campaigns to support the Chamber’s policy and legislative priorities.
Ashlee Rich Stephenson is a nationally respected and highly experienced political strategist and pollster, with over 15 years of experience working on high-level candidate campaigns, independent expenditures, and on behalf of public affairs and corporate interests across the U.S.
She has worked on several U.S. presidential campaigns, including serving as the polling director for then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 campaign and as an adviser for then-Gov. Scott Walker’s 2016 effort.
Stephenson was president of Just Win Strategies, a national political strategy firm, and principal and chief strategy officer at the polling and analytics company WPA Intelligence. She started her career in the Strategy Department at the Republican National Committee.
Named a Rising Star in 2014 by Campaigns & Elections magazine and inducted into the inaugural American Association of Political Consultants 40 under 40 class of 2015, Stephenson is a regularly requested panelist and commentator at political industry events to discuss evolving trends in the political tactics of public opinion research, data, digital, message development, and marketing. She serves on the boards of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions and The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.
A graduate of Allegheny College and native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stephenson resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and their two children.
Mayor Lisa Sulka has called the Bluffton-Hilton Head area home for nearly 40 years. Born and raised in Prosperity, SC, a small southern town just outside of Columbia, she finished her higher education at Clemson University.
After college, Lisa moved to Hilton Head Island and started her own business, which she owned for 15 years. This business venture led to her relationship with Hampton Hall, where she was part of the original sales team. Lisa currently works for Carson Realty, a full-service real estate firm in Bluffton, SC.
A Bluffton resident for 30 years, she and her husband John enjoy spending time with their children, Brannon and Haley, both graduates of Clemson, and Michael from Auburn University.
Favorite family outings include water sports, crabbing and shrimping and enjoying the beautiful, pristine May River.
Lisa is involved with many boards and commissions, including the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation and the Don Ryan Center for Innovation. She is an Honorary Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Heritage Classic Foundation, a member of the Municipal Association of South Carolina Board, and is Chair of the Lowcountry Area Transportation Metropolitan Planning Organization. Lisa is a graduate of the Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Foundation and is actively involved with the students in all of Bluffton’s schools and is involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Bluffton’s Advisory Board.
Lisa served on Bluffton Town Council from 2004 to 2008, running for Mayor in 2007. Lisa began serving as Bluffton Mayor in January 2008 and is currently serving her fourth term.
Joseph “Joe” Passiment was born in Carbondale, PA and raised in Binghamton, NY. He attended the University of Buffalo, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and a Master’s degree in vocational education. Joe embarked upon a teaching career, teaching business education and math for the next eight years. Having survived the infamous blizzard of 1977, Joe and his family left Buffalo, and spent the rest of his working career in New Jersey. He taught for eight more years before heading into administration, serving as a business administrator in three different school districts for the next 22 years. He retired just 11 days before becoming an executive county school business administrator and executive county school superintendent until retiring permanently in April of 2015. He was first elected to the County Council in 2018. He was elected Chair in 2020.
Born in Philadelphia, Mayor Harry Williams earned his bachelor’s degrees in economics from Rutgers University. He is a 42-year veteran of the footwear industry, including as vice president of sales for Oshkosh, Body Glove, U.S. Polo Association, and others. Mayor Williams has over 30 years of experience working in municipal government including serving as a city councilman in Mahwah, N.J. for five years and three years on the planning board there. He was elected to the Hardeeville City Council in 2015 and mayor in 2016. He’s also currently chair of the Southern Lowcountry Advisory Board and a member of the Jasper County Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
Mayor John J. McCann is a native of Brooklyn, New York and graduate from Thomas Edison State University. After spending 44 years in the financial service industry, he retired as the Chairman/CEO from Bridge Trading. Mayor McCann has been on Hilton Head Island for 33 years, As a Town Council member, the Mayor served as the chair of the Finance and Administrative Committee. He was also the past president of Port Royal Plantation and chair of the Technical College of the Lowcountry Foundation. He was elected mayor in 2018.
TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND