About Us

The mission of Public Engagement Associates is to help improve the quality and effectiveness of citizen engagement, particularly in the Washington, DC and Mid-Atlantic area. Public Engagement Associates exists to:

  1. Help public officials and other decision makers understand what their constituents want and need through effective strategy and dynamic engagement; and
  2. Help citizens by enabling their voices to be heard on issues that matter to them.

Public Engagement Associates (PEA) was founded in March of 2014 to engage citizens in decisions that impact their lives.  All of our founding members have broad experience working on projects that have effectively engaged thousands of people in the Washington, DC area and around the country.   In particular, all of our associates are trained in the innovative methods pioneered by AmericaSpeaks, which combines technology with small group dialogue to produce clear priorities and recommendations from citizens and stakeholders.

The principals and senior consultants of PEA have helped to organize some of the most significant public engagement efforts in the country during the past 20 years, including:

  • Responding to Disasters: bringing thousands of people together to respond to the disasters of both 9-11 and Katrina,
  • Summits for Governors: conducting meetings for governors who needed citizen input on health care reform,
  • Region-Wide Involvement: coordinating citizen involvement in a major economic revitalization effort in NE Ohio,
  • National Youth Obesity Initiative: organizing meetings to mobilize citizens to fight youth obesity in six different states,
  • Youth Development: helping Charlotte, NC and other cities set priorities for actions to help improve education and foster positive youth development

During the past ten years, our principals and senior consultants have been particularly active in the Washington, DC area and have done work directly with two of the city’s Mayors, the DC Planning Department, the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), WMATA and many other government agencies and offices.

We have helped hundreds of residents plan for the re-use of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, led an award winning countywide planning effort in Prince George’s county, engaged hundreds of residents in forums about transportation needs in Northern Virginia, enabled the low- income residents of Barry Farm to have a voice in the redevelopment of their community, and organized large community summit meetings in both Wards 7 and 8.