Milford Consulting Firm Announces Expansion

From International Government Strategies, LLC: Co-Founder and Managing Partner James A. Amann announced a major expansion of International Government Strategies, LLC (IGS). Michael Rell, of Wethersfield, will join the firm as a lobbyist. Capitol veteran Marshall Collins will also join the firm as the result of a merger between IGS and Marshall R. Collins & Associates. Both moves substantially boost the scope and reach of an operation that was named a Top 15 lobbying firm by the Hartford Business Journal in 2015.

The growing and diversified firm will continue to be known as International Government Strategies, LLC. IGS is a Milford-based full-service consultancy specializing in government relations and business development with an existing book of state, national, and international clients that includes the Connecticut Nail and Spa Association, the Schaghticokes Tribal Nation, and the Coalition of Connecticut Shell Fisherman, among others.

"Mike and Marshall are professionals of the highest caliber who have reputations for integrity, hard work, and the ability to reach across party lines," said Mr. Amann. "Along with their statewide network of contacts and deep experience throughout state and local government, both fit the vision of IGS as a bipartisan, issues-oriented lobbying firm that offers an array of the highest-quality services.”

Prior to joining IGS, Mr. Rell worked as a press secretary for the state Senate Republican Caucus, a policy analyst for the House Republican Caucus and most recently as that caucus’s Director of Outreach. Mr. Rell is currently a member of the Wethersfield Town Council. He volunteers on a number of boards and commissions, including as appointee of the House Minority Leader to Connecticut’s Tobacco and Health Trust Fund Board, and serves on the Executive Board of the Glastonbury Sportsman’s Association, an organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of our region’s natural resources.

Mr. Collins is current President of Marshall R. Collins & Associates and has more than 38 years of government relations experience. A former Connecticut Assistant Attorney General and Director of Public Affairs for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), Mr. Collins is currently a member of the Board of Finance for the Town of Salem. Collins and his firm have represented a wide range of non-profit and for-profit associations - including the Connecticut Association of Schools - and businesses before the General Assembly and state agencies throughout Connecticut’s executive branch.

Amann, the former democratic state Speaker of the House from 2005-2009 and long-time state representative from Milford, founded IGS in 2010 with former Milford state senator Win Smith. With its reputation for quality service and team of seasoned professionals, IGS has become one of the fastest growing lobbying firms in Connecticut.

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