Charles L. Merin

Mr. Merin serves as Managing Director of BKSH & Associates, and was a founding partner of one of the two firms which merged in 1995 to create the current firm. He possesses more than 38 years of Washington experience, beginning with service as a congressional staffer in 1969. A campaign veteran, he began his career as a lobbyist in 1976.

Mr. Merin has established himself as the premier lobbyist for hospitality industry interests in Washington. His many travel and tourism-related clients include: the Travel Business Roundtable, for which he serves as president, the National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel & Lodging Association; the International Council of Shopping Centers, The Coca-Cola Company, the International Franchise Association, the Travel Industry Association, the National Association of Passport and Visa Services and the Discover America Partnership. He has previously represented the National Football League, the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRōNA) and the Hospitality Coalition on Indoor Air Quality. His efforts have created greater cohesiveness among – and a more effective framework for unified lobbying on behalf of – this burgeoning industry.

He is a member of the board of directors of Business for Diplomatic Action (BDA), an initiative begun in 2001 to improve American business diplomacy. BDA seeks to sensitize American companies to rising anti-Americanism around the world and to enlist the business community in specific actions aimed at addressing the issue.

Mr. Merin is an expert in building legislative coalitions and helping clients forge effective, long-term relationships on Capitol Hill. He is perhaps best known for his close affiliation with the Blue Dog Coalition, an alliance of more than 40 pro-business, conservative House Democrats whose votes have become coveted. National Journal recently recognized him as one of Washington’s leading Democratic lobbyists, in part a reflection of his closeness to this key bloc of Democratic House votes.

Prior to joining the firm in 1985, Mr. Merin represented labor, senior citizen and business trade association interests. During the last two years of the Carter administration, he was principal liaison between the public and private sectors on a Social Security study conducted under Congressional mandate by the then-Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

He holds a nachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in international relations from The George Washington University, and has partially completed doctoral work in the field.