FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766
jweisbord@franchise.org
@franchising411
IFA Names New Leader for FranPAC
WASHINGTON, May 16—International Franchise Association today announced Leah Shimp Vass has been named Associate Director of Government Relations. Leah will be responsible for elevating FranPAC, IFA’s political action committee, as the association continues to increase its influence as a leading small business voice in Washington on franchise business issues.
“Franchise businesses have a presence in every state and congressional district and Leah will provide the focus needed on raising money for FranPAC to support pro-business candidates for the House & Senate,” said IFA President & CEO Robert Cresanti. “Leah’s wide range of political and public policy experience will be vital to the IFA and the franchise business model as we continue to highlight the economic impact of franchising to policymakers.”
Leah Shimp Vass comes from CIT Group, Inc., a longstanding IFA supplier member company, where she was Assistant Vice President of Government Relations for the past two years. Leah was a key part of the Government Relations team and managed the CIT political action committee, among other duties. Prior to that, she was the Director of Scheduling for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for more than 13 years. Leah maintained the senator’s schedule, determined priorities by working closely with the legislative, press and state staff, as well as the Finance Committee and Judiciary Committee. Prior to that, Leah was a special assistant for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee Republican Staff.
In her new role, Shimp Vass will lead the fundraising efforts for IFA’s political action committee, FranPAC, which supports pro-business, pro-franchising candidates at the federal level. “The success of FranPAC increases IFA’s ability to assist those public officials who support economic growth, job creation and fighting the unjustified NLRB decision to designate franchisors and franchisees as joint-employers,” Cresanti stated.
###
About the International Franchise Association
Celebrating 56 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology and business development.