BIPARTISAN TEAM
A seasoned Washington veteran, Erica Chabot joined Mehlman Consulting after spending more than two decades working on Capitol Hill. With experience in senior leadership roles across key Senate Committees, including the Appropriations, Judiciary, and Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committees, Erica built a reputation of creativity, bipartisanship and results.
As the Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for former Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a former Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Erica managed the day-to-day legislative agenda for the Senate’s most senior member. There, she led from conception to actualization Senator Leahy’s member appropriations priorities, helping to direct hundreds of millions of dollars in programmatic and directed spending to Vermont. She was also on the front lines of negotiations over year-end spending packages and emergency spending bills, and provided advice and guidance to other member offices on their appropriations priorities.
As the Communications Director for the Senate Judiciary Committee, Erica directed and implemented press and messaging strategies for major legislative priorities including patent reform and other intellectual property initiatives, immigration reform and border security, criminal justice initiatives, and judicial nominations, including nominees to the Supreme Court.
Most recently, as the majority Staff Director for the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Erica helped shepherd into law a permanent summer feeding benefit for millions of vulnerable children, and initiated the bipartisan drafting efforts for the Farm Bill – a sweeping legislative effort that encompassed both authorizations and appropriations of funds for programs that support the nation’s agriculture industry, climate, conservation and forestry efforts, food assistance for vulnerable children and families, rural development and energy investments and more.
Erica is a proud native of New Hampshire – where some of her earliest political memories are of presidential stump speeches, classic New England honk-and-waves, and relentless calls from phone banks.