Katie Vlietstra Wonnenberg
Katie Vlietstra Wonnenberg
Secretary
Katie Vlietstra Wonnenberg has 14 years of government relations and public affairs experience. This includes working with private companies, membership organizations, state government, local municipalities, and facilitating public-private partnerships. In her most current role as Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs for the National Association for the Self-Employed, Katie led the association’s federal advocacy and public affairs strategy in representing the 27 million self-employed. Since 2012, Katie has used her vast network and public policy experience to build an advocacy strategy rooted in building collaborative, dynamic coalitions and partnerships to advance NASE’s legislative priorities. In several instances, Katie has skillfully used Administrative tools to fast track policy initiatives, including working with the Department of Treasury to simplify the home office deduction. She has also spent significant time working to identify the challenges and opportunities of the gig economy.
Prior to joining the NASE, Katie was instrumental in developing and implementing the advocacy strategy for WorldatWork, the largest association for human resources professionals. She was instrumental in leveraging the association’s voice during the final rulemaking of many key Dodd-Frank provisions, effectively influencing the regulatory process to achieve the goals and priorities of the association. As a member of Governor Rick Perry’s Federal Relations team, Katie coordinated and developed federal legislative strategies for the 2nd largest state. Her portfolio included internet sales tax, hurricane recovery, immigration, and housing. Katie coordinated and led a multi-faceted team of state elected officials, congressional members, and other stakeholders, in securing $1.3 billion in community development block grants to aid in the State’s recovery from Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Dolly. Katie also worked closely with the Texas Delegation to protect the Johnson Space Center from significant budgetary cuts.
Katie has state and national campaign experience having consulted on several congressional and presidential campaigns, including McCain-Palin ‘08, Rick Perry for President, and Romney-Ryan ‘12.
Katie is a frequent contribution to many news outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Roll Call, The Hill, USA Today, and CQ Weekly, and has appeared on FOX, C-SPAN, and MSNBC.
