ABOUT US
HOLLY KINSER—PRESIDENT
Holly has spent twenty-five years in the government relations field and earned a reputation as one of the best lobbyists in Pennsylvania. Lobbying in Pennsylvania since 1990, she initially worked for a Fortune 35 company and subsequently led two different premiere lobbying firms. In April 2012, she opened the doors of her own firm—The Kinser Group, which has offices in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. Throughout the decades she has served as the lead lobbyist for the City of Philadelphia under Mayors Edward G. Rendell and Michael A. Nutter and her client base included Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The John Buck Company, Comcast, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Community Education Centers, Microsoft, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Clear Channel Airports, International Paper, Philadelphia Gas Works, Thomas Jefferson University, Kimpton Hotels, The Wistar Institute, Major League Soccer’s The Philadelphia Union, Unisys, Disney, Pfizer and Frito-Lay.
Prior to forming her own company, she spent a decade as executive vice president and five years as managing director of firms where she oversaw their lobbying engagements at both the state and municipal levels. While there, she significantly diversified and grew their revenue and client base. She is credited with obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding for some of the Commonwealth’s most prominent economic development projects, including:
• State-of-the-art Major League Soccer stadium—home to the Philadelphia Union
• Renowned biomedical institute/National Cancer Institute Cancer Center
• Private colleges and universities
• Major visual and performing arts institutions
• An advanced medical center—the state’s first in southeastern Pennsylvania in more than a decade
• National hotel and retail ventures
Additionally she secured tens of millions of dollars in operational funding for medical colleges, healthcare systems, educational institutions, cultural and historical venues, social service entities and tourism marketing initiatives.Holly’s legislative successes include:
• expanding tax free zones for economic development
• creating dedicated revenue streams for tourism marketing
• providing for the exemption of certain bidding requirements for major construction projects
• conveying land and riparian rights to enhance economic development
• reforming and restructuring the board of the state’s largest Housing Authority
• providing for property tax rate relief and homestead exemptions for the state’s largest county
• averting a financial crisis in the City of Philadelphia by dedicating an additional 1% sales tax and altering pension payments to generate revenue for the city’s general fund.
Her leadership in the procurement space resulted in the award of the largest value contract extension in the Commonwealth’s history and contract awards to clients at the Department of Corrections, Department of Public Welfare, Department of Transportation, the Liquor Control Board and numerous departments within the City of Philadelphia.
Holly moved to Harrisburg in 1990 to establish one of eight lobbying offices in the country for International Paper—at the time, the world’s largest forest products company. As a regional public affairs manager, she oversaw public affairs activities in a five state region. Holly’s career with International Paper began in 1987 at their corporate headquarters in New York where she worked closely with senior executives on communications and government relations initiatives. Her interest in politics developed during her years at the Republican National Committee in Washington, DC where she held a number of staff positions for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Political Operations.
Holly serves as Vice President of the Arden Theatre Company Board of Directors. She is a native Californian who graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, CA. She resides in Center City Philadelphia with her daughter Lena.