Welcome to Harvard University’s federal relations web site. As part of Harvard Public Affairs & Communications, Harvard’s federal relations teams in Cambridge and Washington, D.C. work to maintain a positive and ongoing relationship between Harvard and the Congressional and Executive branches of government. The issues of primary focus for the federal relations staff include student financial aid, admissions, scientific research and other policies at the intersection of government and education.

This site is designed to help inform those interested in the legislative issues affecting Harvard and the higher education community. To that end, the site provides staff biographies, overviews of the issues that come through the federal relations office, information on basic research, links to several organizations that help to promote the public policy interests of colleges and universities, as well as links to related Harvard web sites.

OFR Staff

Christine Heenan
Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications

Christine Heenan, Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications, oversees communications, government relations, and community relations for Harvard University. She also serves as senior adviser to the president, provost, and governing boards.

Before joining Harvard in October 2008, Heenan was the founder and CEO of Clarendon Group Inc., a communications and government relations consulting firm. As president she managed the firm’s communications and strategic planning practices and led its business development efforts. In addition to her role at Clarendon Group, she also served from 2005 -2008 as a senior adviser at Public Strategies, a national public affairs firm with offices in New York, Washington, DC, and Texas.

From 1995 to 2000, Heenan was the Director of Community and Government Relations at Brown University where she managed government relations for the university and its medical school, led the university’s community relations efforts, served as a communications adviser to two presidents and managed the review and adoption of the university’s first campus-wide master plan in the city of Providence.

Kevin Casey
Associate Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications

As Associate Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications, Kevin is responsible for the day to day administrative operations of the department, all of Harvard’s government relations activities in Washington and he oversees representations on Harvard’s behalf to the state of Massachusetts in regulatory and legislative matters. He specializes in legislative and regulatory issues relating to basic research, intellectual property, technology transfer and many miscellaneous matters, including immigration policy. He has been with Harvard since April 1989. Prior to joining Harvard, Kevin served as the Boston office Chief of Staff to Massachusetts Congressman Edward J. Markey. Earlier Kevin was the Staff Director of the Massachusetts State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor. Kevin is a graduate of Merrimack College and The New England School of Law and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1989.

Suzanne Day
Director of Federal Relations

Suzanne Day is a Director of Federal Relations for Harvard University in Washington, D.C. focusing on higher education and student aid related issues. Suzanne joined Harvard Public Affairs and Communications in June 2000. Before this time, Suzanne was Democratic staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for ranking member, Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT). Her primary responsibilities for Senator Dodd included handling all legislative issues related to education, Head Start and family and medical leave as well as coordinating children’s policy issues overall. Suzanne was with Senator Dodd for over nine years and worked in the Senate for a total of 14 years, including service with Senators Spark Matsunaga and Tom Eagleton. Suzanne is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, California and was raised in Guam.

Jon Groteboer
Assistant Director of Federal Relations

Jon returned to Harvard’s Washington D.C. office in 2008 to become Assistant Director of Federal Relations. As Assistant Director, he focuses on the federal budget and appropriations, as well as issues related to science and research, international education, immigration policy and intellectual property. Jon last served the office as Legislative Analyst, a role in which he provided legislative tracking, research and writing support for senior staff; he first joined the office in 2003. Jon is a 2002 graduate of Carleton College and holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.