Sean Duffy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sean Duffy is a veteran of two decades of government and private sector public affairs experience, and served as Executive Director of Coloradans for Fairness and Equality, the statewide organization promoting domestic partnerships and opposing the Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Duffy is also President of Shamrock Strategies, LLC, a media relations and political consulting firm based in Colorado.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and education
Duffy is a graduate of Dickinson College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in English and political science.
[edit] Political life
Earning the label “Top Politician” in the July 2006 Top of the Town edition of Denver’s 5280 Magazine, During the 2006 election season, Duffy received national attention as a straight, conservative Republican leading a first-in-the nation ballot initiative for basic legal rights for gay couples.
[edit] Career history
He was president of The Commonwealth Foundation, a statewide, non-partisan public policy research organization based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In addition to his duties as the Foundation’s chief executive, Duffy focused on education and technology policy and authored two newsletters.
A former business and financial news journalist, prior to founding Shamrock Strategies, Sean served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications to Colorado Governor Bill Owens.
A member of the Governor’s senior staff, Duffy managed the Administration’s external affairs team, including media relations, constituent services, computer operations and event planning. He served as the Governor’s chief speechwriter and personally directed his national public relations.
He was also the founder and director of the Charter School Resource Center, a statewide catalyst for innovative charter public schools, providing hands-on assistance to parents, citizens and educators who are interested in creating charter schools.. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, a “cyber charter” affiliated with K12 Inc., a company founded by former U.S. Education Secretary Bill Bennett.
[edit] Pennsylvania Leadership Council
In the mid-1990s, Duffy was president of the Pennsylvania Leadership Council, the state’s largest, pro-taxpayer citizens’ lobby. In that role he worked closely with hundreds of local taxpayer groups throughout Pennsylvania and was an aggressive and prominent advocate for local tax reform, education reform, and pro-free-enterprise public policy.
[edit] Columnist
During the 2000 election season, he served as a columnist for National Review Online, and has been a frequent talk-radio guest host.
[edit] Press secretary
Prior to joining The Commonwealth Foundation, Duffy was press secretary to Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher. He also worked as press secretary to Pennsylvania Education Secretary Eugene Hickok, serving as a key spokesman for Gov. Tom Ridge’s Administration on education policy. He served as a spokesman for the state Senate Republican Caucus, and has been a volunteer advisor to a number of political campaigns.
