Bernie’s career began in political operations where he gained the foresight of constituency involvement and issue advocacy to affect public change. Beginning in 1980 as staff assistant to the U.S. Senate Republican Conference, he quickly moved on to assist and direct several political campaigns and committees over the next five years and eventually on Jack Kemp’s 1988 Presidential campaign. As the northeast regional political director, Bernie oversaw political operations in 11 states as well as advance work and touring in all 50 states.

Following the campaign, Bernie served in the Office of the Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a key advisor and coordinator of all 10 regional offices and 81 field operations.

Together with Jim Weber, he founded Weber Merritt in the mid-1990’s and grew their grassroots consultancy business into one of the largest and most effective political operative networks in the country. Additionally, Bernie was a founding partner at Qorvis Communications, a local communications firm.

For more than a decade, Bernie has managed dozens of public policy campaigns and draws on this political expertise to devise effective strategies and integrated campaign approaches for Weber Merritt clients. Today, operating independently again, Weber Merritt has added strategic communications, media and public relations counsel to its core competency and can include Fortune 500 companies, associations, nonprofit organizations and individual executives among its client roster.