IN THEIR OWN WORDS

We’re grateful for the way our clients describe our work with them.

...a game changer for our organization.....

Habitat for Humanity California

"Working with Holly at Lighthouse has been a game changer for our organization. And, if our partnership wasn’t achieving measurable outcomes, we definitely wouldn’t have maintained our 12-year relationship. Holly’s contagious enthusiasm makes it fun to work with her, but even more importantly, she’s effective and her actions have led to policy changes, funding, and significant outcomes for affordable homeownership. When legislators tell us that we have an amazing advocate in Holly Fraumeni De Jesus, we know we’re getting results."

– Debbie Arakel, Executive Director / Habitat for Humanity California

...always available to guide us through issues big and small...

Salesforce

"Lighthouse is a trusted advisor to Salesforce, providing insightful guidance while navigating complex topics with their extensive relationships in government. They truly act as an extension of our team - always available to guide us through issues big and small."

– Amy Waggoner, VP
US State & Local Government Affairs / Salesforce

...highly trusted and effective...

Grocery Outlet

"Since we decided to enter the San Francisco market, Rich Peterson and his team have worked exceptionally closely with all areas of our company – management team, real estate, construction, operations and marketing – to ensure our business success. They are a highly trusted and effective resource for us, and have been fantastic to work with."

– MacGregor Read, Co-CEO / Grocery Outlet, Inc.

...instinct, intelligence and attentiveness...

Caltrain

"Marian Lee has developed and executed critical elements of our government and community relations strategy. She has seamlessly blended deep technical knowledge with invaluable experience in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara County. Mare’s instinct, intelligence and attentiveness to the needs of Caltrain have led to positive outcomes for a wide range of priority projects. Lighthouse Public Affairs has earned the trust and respect of the railroad through her work."

– Michelle Bouchard, Executive Director, Caltrain,

...led to strong support from our Mission neighbors...

Audi of San Francisco / Royal Motors

"Boe Hayward planned and directed all aspects of our community and political outreach strategy that led to strong support from our Mission neighbors as well as unanimous support at City Hall. I would recommend Lighthouse Public Affairs to anyone seeking community and planning expertise for an important real estate project in San Francisco."

– Andy Hansen, Chief Operating Officer,
Audi of San Francisco / Royal Motors.

...exceptional expertise in government affairs...

Sand Hill Property Company

"We have worked with Lighthouse since 2016, and they have provided excellent support locally in the Peninsula and Silicon Valley with exceptional expertise in government affairs, community engagement, and land use, and have put their knowledge and terrific connections to use on our behalf. At the same time, the Sacramento team has worked tirelessly to build relationships and provide advocacy for our legislative efforts and within the Administration."

– Michael Kramer, Sand Hill Property Company

...build meaningful relationships...

Zendesk

"With the help of Rich Peterson and Boe Hayward, Zendesk was able to develop a plan that is strongly supported by the City, the neighborhood and our employees. It lays the foundation for a very successful relationship between all parties. I would recommend their firm to any technology firm looking to grow in the City and build meaningful relationships with key City and neighborhood leaders."

– Tiffany Maleshefski, Director of Public Affairs / Zendesk

...an essential component of our Bay Area success...

Cypress / SRS

"Rich Peterson and his team have been an essential component of our Bay Area success for the last decade; whether it be the entitlements for a 250,000 sq. ft. premier downtown retail center in San Francisco, or the approvals of a prime 400,000 sq. ft. mixed-use project proximate to Santana Row in San Jose, when we need sound guidance and successful advocacy, we call on our friends at Lighthouse."

– Chris Maguire, CEO / SRS Real Estate Partners/Cypress Equities

...acted as a true partner....

Abramson

"Kelli Bernard’s expertise in government affairs along with her local knowledge and meaningful connections were instrumental in advancing our Los Angeles office project. A valuable team member, she leveraged her relationships on our behalf and acted as a true partner. I will definitely call upon Kelli and the Lighthouse team on future projects."

– Sean Abramson, President / Abramson Investors

...combination of political insight and local knowledge...

Jones Day / MBIA

"Lighthouse’s combination of political insight and local knowledge, along with its focused emphasis on concrete results, were instrumental in the resolution of this matter. In the future, when I have clients in need of discreet, effective public affairs help, I will not hesitate to call Rich and his team."

– Tobias S. Keller, Partner / Jones Day

Alex Clemens

Founder & Managing Member

Alex Clemens is a veteran political operative and communications expert who has served four elected officials in San Francisco and Washington, DC. In 2003, Alex founded Barbary Coast Consulting, which the New York Times named an elite public affairs firm – and in 2016, he joined Rich Peterson and Boe Hayward to merge their firms, co-founding Lighthouse Public Affairs.

Alex has been involved in public issues his entire life: he volunteered on his first political campaign at age twelve. (And his candidate won.) He is a sought-after speaker at civic events, regularly breaking down and forecasting political trends and translating election results for Bay Area organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, SPUR, Leadership San Francisco, San Francisco Public Relations Roundtable, Lambda Alpha, San Francisco Travel, Urban Land Institute, the Battery, San Francisco Consular Corps, the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods and others. He has served as a lecturer at the University of San Francisco’s Leo McCarthy Center, teaching Masters candidates about advocacy, lobbying and ethics. His political analysis has been quoted in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Politico, Bay Area television and radio stations, and dozens of other outlets.

Alex has served a broad range of well-known clients as a strategic advisor regarding surrounding political direction, relationship-building, media challenges and procurement efforts. A representative sample include Visa, the San Francisco Giants, Dolby, Cisco, Albertsons/Safeway, Google, Pinterest, the San Francisco SPCA, Axon, the Kilroy Realty Corporation, the San Francisco 49ers, The Mills Corporation, the California Academy of Sciences, the Southern Land Company, the Exploratorium, Public Storage, the Bank of San Francisco, the San Francisco Foundation, Umpqua Bank, Lemonade, Walgreens, the Koret Foundation, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and the Association of Bay Area Governments.

An accomplished lobbyist, Alex has been involved in two decades of negotiations surrounding San Francisco’s favorite political pastime: debating location, height and density. Alex has helped facilitate City Hall, community and stakeholder conversations that have shaped housing and development policy throughout San Francisco. From the Kilroy Flower Mart, San Francisco’s largest-ever office entitlement, to California Pacific Medical Center’s Cathedral Hill campus, to six Rincon Hill condo towers, to MacFarlane Partners, to the Jewish Home of San Francisco in the Excelsior District, to the Market Street Place shopping center on Market Street at Fifth, to the 2015 expansion of the Moscone Center, to the transformation of One Steuart Lane from an antiquated parking garage to a sleek residential building, to the expansion of two dozen independent schools across San Francisco, Oakland, Marin and the Peninsula, to the re-envisioning of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, Alex and his team have assisted their clients in moving the needle towards success.

Alex has led crisis communications efforts for a variety of clients, almost all of whom would prefer not to be mentioned in this space – but he’s been tested by white-hot media spotlights again and again. Most famously, the day after Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger successfully ditched his crippled Airbus A-320 in the Hudson River in 2009, Alex became Sully’s advisor. Alex managed the media tsunami created by Sully’s work (along with his crew) to save 155 lives, and as he transitioned from his role as a highly competent pilot and safety trainer to that of an internationally-recognized hero. From negotiating the multi-segment 60 Minutes feature, to creating and executing several national media tours, to assisting with negotiations for book and speaker deals, to preparing for various addresses to Congress, Alex assisted Sully and his family as they navigated their unexpected notoriety and fame. (And yes, if you were wondering, Sully is just like he appears in public – thoughtful, strong, disciplined, smart, wise, and quietly funny. Sometimes circumstantial fame is visited upon the right person.)

Alex also has earned a reputation as a creative political operative. In addition to his efforts as a campaign policy wonk, strategist and speechwriter, he worked as a Bay Area advance man for the Clinton/Gore ticket in 1992, serving as lead organizer for an eight-thousand person rally at 24th and Mission in the days leading up to the June primary. He co-wrote his boss Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg’s ceiling-shattering address to the Democratic Convention held the same year, marking the first time an out lesbian addressed a national political convention. In early 1993, when President Clinton named Achtenberg his designee to serve as Assistant HUD Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, she became the first out gay person to be placed before the United States Senate for a confirmation vote. On the day of the vote, the outcome of which was still unclear, Alex staffed Vice President Al Gore as he worked the phones and twisted arms from the Vice President’s office in the frantic, unsure hours leading up to the vote. The 58-31 result cemented Roberta Achtenberg’s place in civil rights history.

Alex is a proud graduate of UC Santa Cruz, holding a degree in International Politics. (He believes he may have minored in Ultimate Frisbee, as well, but the transcripts are somewhat hazy on that point.) Alex is a licensed private investigator in the state of California, is the co-founder of the Gabriel Zimmerman Scholarship Fund at UC Santa Cruz, and serves on the boards of the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the storied Sacramento Seminar civic discussion group. He and his wife Priya, the host of KQED Newsroom, reside in Strawberry with their two young children.

Alex Clemens

Founder / Creative Strategist

Alex Clemens is a veteran political operative and communications expert who has served four elected officials in San Francisco and Washington, DC. In 2003, Alex founded Barbary Coast Consulting, which the New York Times named an elite public affairs firm – and in 2016, he joined with Rich Peterson and Boe Hayward to combine their firms and co-founded Lighthouse Public Affairs.

Alex has been involved in public issues his entire life: he volunteered on his first political campaign at age twelve. (His candidate won.) He is a lecturer at the University of San Francisco’s Leo McCarthy Center, where he teaches Masters candidates about advocacy, lobbying and ethics. He is a sought-after speaker at civic events, regularly breaking down and forecasting political trends and translating election results for Bay Area organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, SPUR, Leadership San Francisco, San Francisco Public Relations Roundtable, Lambda Alpha, San Francisco Travel, Urban Land Institute, the Battery, San Francisco Consular Corps, the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods and others. Alex is also regularly quoted in local media, providing political analysis and commentary for the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner and Bay Area television and radio stations.

An accomplished lobbyist, Alex has been involved in two decades of negotiations surrounding San Francisco’s favorite political pastime: debating location, height and density. Alex has helped facilitate City Hall, community and stakeholder conversations that have shaped housing and development policy throughout the region. From the California Pacific Medical Center’s Cathedral Hill campus, to six Rincon Hill condo towers, to the Jewish Home of San Francisco in the Excelsior District, to the Market Street Place shopping center on Market Street at Fifth, to the 2015 expansion of the Moscone Center, to the transformation of 75 Howard from an antiquated parking garage to a sleek residential building, to the expansion of a dozen independent schools across San Francisco, Oakland, Marin and the Peninsula, Alex and his team have assisted their clients in moving the needle towards success.

Alex has served a broad range of well-known clients as a strategic advisor regarding surrounding political direction, relationship-building, media challenges and procurement efforts, including the San Francisco Giants, Dolby, Cisco, Google, the Millennium Towers Homeowners Association, Pinterest, the San Francisco SPCA, Taser, Recology, the Kilroy Realty Corporation, the San Francisco 49ers, The Mills Corporation, the California Academy of Sciences, the Bank of San Francisco, CDM, the Koret Foundation, HNTB, Orchard Supply Hardware, the San Francisco Foundation, Umpqua Bank, Lemonade, Walgreens, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and the Association of Bay Area Governments, amongst others.

Alex has led crisis communications efforts for a variety of clients, almost all of whom would prefer not to be mentioned in this space – but he’s been tested by white-hot media spotlights again and again. Perhaps most famously, the day after Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger successfully ditched his crippled Airbus A-320 in the Hudson River in 2009, Alex became Sully’s advisor. Alex managed the media tsunami created by Sully’s work (along with his crew) to save 155 lives, and as he transitioned from his role as a highly competent pilot and safety trainer to that of an internationally-recognized hero. From negotiating the 60 Minutes multi-segment story that pulled back the curtain on the pilots and crew of US Airways Flight 1549, to creating and executing several national media tours, to assisting with negotiations for book and speaker deals, Alex assisted Sully and his family as they navigated their unexpected notoriety and fame. (And yes, if you were wondering, Sully is just like he appears in public – thoughtful, strong, disciplined, smart, wise, and quietly funny. Sometimes circumstantial fame is visited upon the right person.)

Alex also has earned a reputation as a seasoned political operative. In addition to his efforts as a campaign policy wonk, strategist and speechwriter, he worked as a Bay Area advance man for the Clinton/Gore ticket in 1992, serving as lead organizer for an eight-thousand person rally at 24th and Mission in the days leading up to the June primary. He co-wrote his boss Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg’s ceiling-shattering address to the Democratic Convention held the same year, marking the first time an out lesbian addressed a national political convention. In early 1993, when President Clinton named Achtenberg his designee to serve as Assistant HUD Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, she became the first out gay person to be placed before the United States Senate for a confirmation vote. On the day of the vote, the outcome of which was still unclear, Alex staffed Vice President Al Gore as he worked the phones and twisted arms from the Vice President’s office in the frantic, unsure hours leading up to the vote. The 58-31 result cemented Roberta Achtenberg’s place in civil rights history.

Alex is a proud graduate of UC Santa Cruz, holding a degree in International Politics. (He believes he may have minored in Ultimate Frisbee, as well, but the transcripts are somewhat hazy on that point.) Alex is a licensed private investigator in the state of California, is the co-founder of the Gabriel Zimmerman Scholarship Fund at UC Santa Cruz, and serves on the boards of the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the storied Sacramento Seminar civic discussion group. He and his wife Priya, the communications director for the Golden Gate Bridge District, reside in Strawberry with their two young children.

Fname Lname

Title1 / Title2

Alex Clemens is a veteran political operative and communications expert who has served four elected officials in San Francisco and Washington, DC. In 2003, Alex founded Barbary Coast Consulting, which the New York Times named an elite public affairs firm – and in 2016, he joined with Rich Peterson and Boe Hayward to combine their firms and co-founded Lighthouse Public Affairs.

Alex has been involved in public issues his entire life: he volunteered on his first political campaign at age twelve. (His candidate won.) He is a lecturer at the University of San Francisco’s Leo McCarthy Center, where he teaches Masters candidates about advocacy, lobbying and ethics. He is a sought-after speaker at civic events, regularly breaking down and forecasting political trends and translating election results for Bay Area organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, SPUR, Leadership San Francisco, San Francisco Public Relations Roundtable, Lambda Alpha, San Francisco Travel, Urban Land Institute, the Battery, San Francisco Consular Corps, the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods and others. Alex is also regularly quoted in local media, providing political analysis and commentary for the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner and Bay Area television and radio stations.

An accomplished lobbyist, Alex has been involved in two decades of negotiations surrounding San Francisco’s favorite political pastime: debating location, height and density. Alex has helped facilitate City Hall, community and stakeholder conversations that have shaped housing and development policy throughout the region. From the California Pacific Medical Center’s Cathedral Hill campus, to six Rincon Hill condo towers, to the Jewish Home of San Francisco in the Excelsior District, to the Market Street Place shopping center on Market Street at Fifth, to the 2015 expansion of the Moscone Center, to the transformation of 75 Howard from an antiquated parking garage to a sleek residential building, to the expansion of a dozen independent schools across San Francisco, Oakland, Marin and the Peninsula, Alex and his team have assisted their clients in moving the needle towards success.

Alex has served a broad range of well-known clients as a strategic advisor regarding surrounding political direction, relationship-building, media challenges and procurement efforts, including the San Francisco Giants, Dolby, Cisco, Google, the Millennium Towers Homeowners Association, Pinterest, the San Francisco SPCA, Taser, Recology, the Kilroy Realty Corporation, the San Francisco 49ers, The Mills Corporation, the California Academy of Sciences, the Bank of San Francisco, CDM, the Koret Foundation, HNTB, Orchard Supply Hardware, the San Francisco Foundation, Umpqua Bank, Lemonade, Walgreens, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and the Association of Bay Area Governments, amongst others.

Alex has led crisis communications efforts for a variety of clients, almost all of whom would prefer not to be mentioned in this space – but he’s been tested by white-hot media spotlights again and again. Perhaps most famously, the day after Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger successfully ditched his crippled Airbus A-320 in the Hudson River in 2009, Alex became Sully’s advisor. Alex managed the media tsunami created by Sully’s work (along with his crew) to save 155 lives, and as he transitioned from his role as a highly competent pilot and safety trainer to that of an internationally-recognized hero. From negotiating the 60 Minutes multi-segment story that pulled back the curtain on the pilots and crew of US Airways Flight 1549, to creating and executing several national media tours, to assisting with negotiations for book and speaker deals, Alex assisted Sully and his family as they navigated their unexpected notoriety and fame. (And yes, if you were wondering, Sully is just like he appears in public – thoughtful, strong, disciplined, smart, wise, and quietly funny. Sometimes circumstantial fame is visited upon the right person.)

Alex also has earned a reputation as a seasoned political operative. In addition to his efforts as a campaign policy wonk, strategist and speechwriter, he worked as a Bay Area advance man for the Clinton/Gore ticket in 1992, serving as lead organizer for an eight-thousand person rally at 24th and Mission in the days leading up to the June primary. He co-wrote his boss Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg’s ceiling-shattering address to the Democratic Convention held the same year, marking the first time an out lesbian addressed a national political convention. In early 1993, when President Clinton named Achtenberg his designee to serve as Assistant HUD Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, she became the first out gay person to be placed before the United States Senate for a confirmation vote. On the day of the vote, the outcome of which was still unclear, Alex staffed Vice President Al Gore as he worked the phones and twisted arms from the Vice President’s office in the frantic, unsure hours leading up to the vote. The 58-31 result cemented Roberta Achtenberg’s place in civil rights history.

Alex is a proud graduate of UC Santa Cruz, holding a degree in International Politics. (He believes he may have minored in Ultimate Frisbee, as well, but the transcripts are somewhat hazy on that point.) Alex is a licensed private investigator in the state of California, is the co-founder of the Gabriel Zimmerman Scholarship Fund at UC Santa Cruz, and serves on the boards of the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the storied Sacramento Seminar civic discussion group. He and his wife Priya, the communications director for the Golden Gate Bridge District, reside in Strawberry with their two young children.