Breelyn serves as senior vice president and the director of McGuireWoods Consulting’s California government relations and national municipal strategies practice.
As a seasoned trusted advisor and the former deputy mayor of legislative and external affairs for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Breelyn advises clients on local, state, and federal issues related to their policy priorities and business objectives. Drawing on her deep knowledge and expertise in the policy challenges facing mayors and local government leaders across the U.S., she greatly expands the firm’s capabilities to advise clients in the rapid growth across national public strategy and government relations sectors.
As deputy mayor, Breelyn oversaw all aspects of the City of Los Angeles’ local, state, and federal affairs. Most notably, she secured billions of dollars in state and federal COVID-19 assistance for the city and led advocacy efforts to drastically expand California’s investments to address the housing and homelessness crises. Breelyn also served as Mayor Garcetti’s most senior staff representative in his engagement with the White House, Congress, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, and California’s Big City Mayors to advance priorities such as affordable housing, sustainability, infrastructure, racial equity, and COVID-19 response.
Prior to her time in the mayor’s office, Breelyn was appointed by former President Barack Obama to serve as senior advisor in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, where she led the agency’s engagement with external stakeholders, congressional and business leaders. A veteran of Capitol Hill, Breelyn also served as communications director to former U.S. Representative Janice Hahn of California. She began her political and communications career in Chicago, where she served as communications director for former Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Her wide-ranging public affairs experience includes serving as managing director of communications with the public affairs firm Ian Reid LLC, vice president of public affairs at the Chicago Children’s Museum, and vice president of external affairs at the Chicago Urban League. Breelyn is a native of Southern California.
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