PREMIUM CIGAR ASSOCIATION EXPANDS GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS STAFF

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[WASHINGTON, D.C. – APRIL 12, 2024] The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) welcomes Richard Chalkey as its new Director of Coalitions and Policy.

Richard brings over a decade of professional experience from work in government and the private sector. “The Premium Cigar Association has worked with Richard since his time in the West Wing of the White House through Congress and we look forward to having him join our team,” noted PCA Deputy Executive Director Joshua Habursky. “It is rare to find someone in Washington who has worked in the House, Senate, and White House –especially someone who worked four years in a White House and in the West Wing. We are glad to have the perspective and network that Richard will bring.”

Previously, Richard served as the Associate Director of the National Economic Council and as the Associate Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs in the Trump White House. During his four years of service at the White House, Richard managed policy rollouts for the Directors of his departments and in coordination with White House Senior Staff and Cabinet Agencies. Most notably he served in the development and rollout of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Most recently, Richard served as a Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina in the 117th and 118th Congress. Prior to the White House, Richard also served in the Office of former U.S. Senator Mark Kirk and former Congressman Rodney Davis, both of Illinois. Outside of government, Richard has worked as a Senior Consultant for Deloitte Consulting and also ProVenture Consultants, which consults for PCA government affairs. Before working in Washington, D.C., Richard was a founding member and head of marketing for a brewery in Illinois and for a cybersecurity startup company in both Tokyo and Boston.

Richard holds a Bachelor of Science in Management – International Business and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a U.S. State Department Gilman Scholar for studying abroad at the University of Hong Kong and currently is a May 2024 expected Executive MBA candidate for the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He resides in Washington, D.C. and is a native of Streator, Illinois.

Richard will work on local, state, and federal government affairs projects with Glynn Loope and Joshua Habursky and take on the responsibility for international stakeholder engagement. Richard can be reached at richard@premiumcigars.org.