Professional Staff

Anne L. Metcalf

Firm founder Anne Metcalf brings 17 years of federal relations and public affairs experience to serving her clients. Ms. Metcalf founded MFR in 1998 with a focus on bringing the needs and issues of cultural, educational and natural resource organizations before government. She has grown the firm with an impressive record of obtaining federal funding and issues exposure for organizations which previously lacked representation or felt that their former lobbying arrangements were underperforming, over-priced, or lacked the personal, hands-on approach that MFR provides.

Ms. Metcalf specializes in the Federal budget and appropriations processes. She was one of the first lobbyists in Washington to pioneer the pursuit of congressionally-directed federal funds for museums and like institutions. Early accomplishments in her federal fundraising career include obtaining $4.25 million to operate free trolleys on Chicago’s Museum Campus and $3.1 million for the Sidney R. and Addie Yates Exhibition Center at The Field Museum. Earlier in her career, Ms. Metcalf secured a $232 million authorization for a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) building in North Carolina after successfully reversing longstanding Congressional opposition, and played a key role in restoring funds to EPA’s 1996 budget after Congress proposed major cuts.

Previously, Ms. Metcalf was the senior lobbyist at a small Washington, D.C., government relations firm representing non-profit educational, research and cultural organizations. Several of that firm’s clients chose to move their business to Metcalf Federal Relations when she opened the firm in 1998 and remain with the firm today.

Ms. Metcalf served as a Congressional Liaison in EPA’s Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, where she advised Agency officials and Congress on EPA funding and other matters for nearly six years. Her responsibilities required defending the Agency’s annual budget request before Congress and demanded familiarity with all of EPA’s major programs and initiatives. Her work frequently entailed building coalitions of Agency, Administration, Congressional and other advocates to support EPA’s legislative agenda.

She gained her legislative experience on Capitol Hill, where she served as subcommittee staff and covered environmental, labor and committee issues for the late United States Senator John Heinz (R-PA). She later worked for public relations giant Hill & Knowlton as an account executive in their Environment Group.

Ms. Metcalf holds a B.A. in English Literature from Barnard College, Columbia University. She is a member of Women in Government Relations and several other professional and civic organizations. An avid gardener, animal lover, museumgoer, and traveler, Ms. Metcalf and her family live three blocks away from the MFR office.