Steve Rice is DDC Advocacy's Vice President of Field Operations.  He utilizes his vast experience in advocacy strategies and tactics, including grasstops, grassroots, coalition building, earned media and state lobbying, to oversee the firm’s national and state field operations.

Before joining DDCA in 2010, Rice served as Director of Public Affairs at the Food Allergy Initiative, the largest private source of funding for food allergy research and advocate for the federal government and private sources to collaborate in search of a cure.  He was also President of East-West Advocacy, an independent consultancy specializing in multi-state public affairs / grassroots campaigns around legislative and business objectives.

Prior to that, Mr. Rice managed numerous grassroots campaigns at Mercury Public Affairs / CrossLink Strategy Group, where his clients included major national retailers, telecommunications companies, a professional sports league, pro-business organizations and others.

Mr. Rice previously served as a political consultant and strategist at California-based McNally Temple Associates, managing statewide campaigns for California Secretary of State and to protect the “Three Strikes” law, and congressional races including U.S. Representatives John Doolittle (CA-4), Doug Ose (CA-3) and Steve Kuykendall (CA-36).  He also managed dozens of state and county elections, as well as numerous ballot initiative and referendum campaigns.

Mr. Rice’s experience also includes working for a California state legislator, and directing California’s largest Republican voter registration program in 1996.  During an earlier stint in Washington, D.C., he was Director of Government Relations for an international trade consulting firm and a government relations aide for a major telecommunications trade association.

A native of San Diego, Mr. Rice earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his B.S. from Penn’s Wharton School of Business.  He serves as Vice President of the American Association of Political Consultants, Mid-Atlantic Chapter.