Jennifer Corrigan, Budget Consultant
Jennifer has a strong record of accomplishments at the Colorado State Capitol, including a number of budget successes. She honed her skills by working directly with the Joint Budget Committee over the past several years, both as Legislative Liaison for one of the most complex state departments and as Government Affairs Director for the Colorado Children's Campaign.
Jennifer began her political career in 1996 in Washington, D.C., where she worked on a wide range of health and human services issues. She has extensive state-level policy experience in both Texas and Colorado and has also worked as campaign staff on a successful statewide ballot measure and on local-level policies.
Jennifer's background has enabled her to build strong relationships with legislators across the political spectrum and with the Joint Budget Committee. She is the President of Summit Policy Works and provides consulting services to Ascent Strategies on budget issues.
Connect ~ Communicate ~ Collaborate
Patrick Williams, Legislative Analyst
Patrick brings a unique blend of knowledge and experience to Ascent Strategies, with a background in the fields of law, business, and education. A former attorney, he served with the City Attorney's office for four different Colorado municipalities. He also served as a municipal and county court judge and is a past president of the Adams County Bar Association.
Patrick's work as an educator has included teaching at the secondary level and as an adjunct professor for Northern Iowa University and the University of Phoenix, where he taught courses in legal studies and mathematics. In 2015, he returned from a three-year stint in Shanghai, China where he served as Dean of Academic Affairs and instructor in English for Chinese secondary, college, and adult English-learning students.
Sundari Kraft, Principal
Sundari has been working to effect policy change for almost a decade, beginning with local issues at the municipal level and evolving to include state and county government affairs, ballot and candidate campaigns, communications consulting, and media relations. As a respected member of the lobby core at the State Capitol, Sundari has cultivated relationships with legislators across the political spectrum and developed a reputation as an ethical and effective advocate for her clients.
Sundari takes a collaborative approach to policy success, building alliances with organizations and stakeholders to produce strong and diverse coalitions. She utilizes her combination of political experience and communications skills to strategically advance the goals of her clients, from crafting and guiding the passage of legislation to developing position statements and issue talking points. Sundari's in-depth work in the areas of children's health and related public health issues, local development and infrastructure investments, and science-based sustainable agriculture policy has resulted in a comprehensive understanding of effective messaging and tactical strategies within contentious landscapes.
Sundari is the recipient of the CropLife America Urbanowski Grassroots Award (2019), the Dr. Virgilio Licona Community Health Leadership Award from the Colorado Health Foundation (2017), and the CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award (2015). She is a former professional violinist and enjoys mountain and trail ultrarunning.