Shawn Shouldice is a professional advocate for clients who have interests before the legislative, administrative, and executive branches of Vermont state government. She has been representing clients for more than 18 years and has become noted for her success in implementing strong grassroots advocacy campaigns on behalf of their clients' within Vermont and outside of Vermont.

Shawn, in 1987, co-founded with her father, William Shouldice & Associates. But most recently announced the formation of Capital Connections, LLC; a government and public relations firm that will build on Shawn's years of expertise in providing her Clients with legislative and regulatory issues management, stakeholder engagement, campaign strategies, grassroots advocacy, and communications services.

Her clients have included a wide variety of interests including large and small businesses in many economic sectors, local, state, regional and international trade associations, and non-profit organizations ranging to local philanthropies. Shawn has represented these interests before the Legislature and state administrative and regulatory agencies. She also has a long and close working relationship with Vermont's delegation to Congress and their staff.

As customary with small advocacy groups, Shawn's responsibilities include every aspect of this service including tracking legislation, preparing presentations, testifying on rules and legislation, and planning and executing governmental strategies. She handles public relations for clients, plans and organizes public events, prepares regular and special reports on public issues, and coordinates' work for her clients with advocates for other clients with similar interests.

She has sharpened these skills during nearly two decades of practice, and at the same time has developed the asset that is essential for success and that comes only with experience: personal relationships with key government officials and staffs. These relationships, based on trust and past performance, have helped elevated Shawn as one of the best known and most successful advocates in Vermont.

She brought to this profession a bachelor's degree in business administration from Merrimack College, an associate's degree in business administration from Endicott College, and experience in sales work for two large New England insurance companies. She also brought lifetime knowledge of Vermont and many years of full-and part-time work in her family's retail business.

Shawn and her three children; Will, Cait and Erin live in Montpelier, Vermont.

Every successful organization, large or small, needs someone whose job is to keep things moving. At Capital Connections, LLC that person is Paulette.

Paulette O'Bryan has been running offices in Montpelier for three decades, including some of state government's most high-profile operations such as the Vermont Public Service Board. She knows her way around the state government bureaucracy as well as anyone in town.

In addition to day-to-day responsibility of managing the Capital Connections' offices, she works directly with some of the firm's clients on grassroots legislative tasks and helps with administrative duties of the client organizations. She has produced newsletters and organized continuing education materials for clients; is instrumental in providing organizational expertise for hosting meetings and conferences for their clients.

In short, when the principal of Capital Connections, LLC is in the State House, in Washington, or meeting elsewhere with clients and government or industry officials, Paulette is the go-to person for this busy organization.

Paulette and her husband, David, live in Barre, Vermont.