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Hedy Govenar founded the lobbying and consulting firm of Governmental Advocates, Inc. in 1979, after a ten-year career in both local and state political campaigns. In the intervening years, her firm has become one of the most well-respected and successful lobbying organizations in Sacramento. Ms. Govenar’s interest in government and politics began during her teens when she clerked in a politically active law firm in Los Angeles. From that time forward, she participated in local community involvement organizations, including a stint as a counselor for a county drug diversion program and the organizer and President of an after-school enrichment program in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Her skills as a grass-roots organizer, fund-raiser, and publicist led first to a job as a political campaign consultant, and later to a partnership in a Los Angeles-based political public relations firm. Lobbying was a natural progression for her because many of the businesses and statewide associations used the firm to help them be more effective in their relations with government staff and elected officials. Ms. Govenar became the key person who directed their activities. In fact, it was individuals from that group who became the first lobbying clients of Governmental Advocates. Ms. Govenar served as a member of the California Film Commission for ten years as an appointee of two successive Assembly Speakers, one Democrat and one Republican. She served on the Board of Directors of the University of Phoenix for five years and currently sits on the Board of Directors of Apollo Group, Inc., a publicly traded company. She served for many years on the Steering Committee of Women in Advocacy, a professional organization for female lobbyists. She is an active volunteer for several women’s charities and belongs to Capitol Network, an organization which supports women’s networking and philanthropic activities. In recognition of her work on behalf of professional women, she was the first recipient of the "Mover Award" presented by the California Elected Women’s Association for Education and Research. Ms. Govenar holds a B.A. degree from UCLA and an M.A. degree from California State University at Northridge. Other consuming interests are travel and a golf game in need of serious attention. |