Mark Valente III, a Michigan native, is the President of Valente & Associates, a bipartisan, D.C.-based, government affairs consulting firm.

As the grandson of four Italian immigrants, Mr. Valente has always maintained strong ties to his Italian heritage. Mr. Valente has been involved with the National Italian American foundation for over three decades, and now serves on the Board of Directors. He chairs the Government Relations and Public Policy Committee, where he uses his position to be a voice for Italian Americans in Washington, DC, and reinforces the Foundation’s mission to strengthen and empower ties between the United States and Italy.

For more than 30 years, Mr. Valente has brought his long record of active participation in local, state and federal government and public service to a wide range of clients, cabinet secretaries, elected officials, candidates and not-for-profit causes. Mr. Valente’s government experience began when he was elected City Councilman in Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., and continued to develop through his service in the Office of Public Liaison in the Reagan White House, as well as Director of Congressional Relations for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) during the George H. W. Bush Administration. Because of his unique political background and legislative expertise, policy makers in both the United States Congress and the executive branch frequently seek Mr. Valente’s counsel. Mr. Valente is a graduate of Villanova University’s College of Commerce and Finance, as well as the University Of Detroit School Of Law. He and his wife, the former Claudia Marie Barker, reside in North Springfield, Virginia.