Meridian Meridian Announces New Co-Chairs of the Corporate Council – Art Collins, Founding Partner, Collins | Johnson Group and Meredith Baker, Senior VP, NBCUniversal

Washington D.C.: Meridian International Center is pleased to announce new Co-Chairs of the Corporate Council - Arthur (Art) Collins, Founding Partner of the Collins | Johnson Group and Meredith A. Baker, Senior Vice President of the Government Relations Office, NBCUniversal.

Arthur (Art) Collins is a Founding Partner of the Collins | Johnson Group, and has over 20 years of experience as a valued advisor on national political strategy, public policy, and corporate campaigns. Prior to the Collins | Johnson Group, Mr. Collins was Chairman and CEO of Public Private Partnership, Inc., which he established in 1990. He led the company’s multifaceted practice that counseled corporate clients in national security, energy, healthcare, agriculture, information technology, transportation, financial services, and manufacturing.

Collins was also a Senior Political Strategist for the historic Obama 2008 presidential campaign, where he provided leadership on key constituencies that helped then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama win a highly-competitive primary and general election. Following the election, he was a Public Liaison within the Obama-Biden Transition Project. In 2004, Collins was a Senior Advisor to the Kerry Presidential Campaign, and served as the Campaign Manager for retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Leander J. Shaw, Jr. in 1990.

Mr. Collins is a member of the Morehouse School of Medicine Board of Trustees, and is Vice-Chair of its Governance and Nominating Committee. Additionally, he is Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s (CBCI) policy think tank, the 21st Century Council. Previous appointments include membership on the Florida Prepaid College Board, Florida Consumer Council, Florida Small and Minority Business Advisory Council, Florida Governor's Business Advisory Council on Education, and President of Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Commission. Mr. Collins also served on Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) Board of Trustees, where he was elected its first Chairman.

A graduate of Florida A&M University’s School of Business and Industry, Collins was awarded an honorary doctorate from FAMU in 2009. He has studied at the University of Miami School of Law and abroad at the University of Montpellier in Montpellier, France.

Meredith A. Baker joined NBCUniversal in September 2011 as Senior Vice President of the Government Relations Office. Her responsibilities include coordinating the development of NBCUniversal’s policy positions on legislative and regulatory issues, and representing those positions before the Congress, the Administration, and Government agencies.

Ms. Baker most recently served as a Federal Communications Commissioner from July 2009 until June 2011. Prior to her service at the FCC, she was Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). While at NTIA, she administered the coupon program to help facilitate the nation’s historic transition to digital television, promoted market-based policies that encouraged innovation, served on delegations representing the United States at major international telecommunications conferences, and engaged in bilateral discussions with senior level officials from countries around the world.

Before joining NTIA, Ms. Baker was Vice President at the firm of Williams Mullen Strategies. She worked at Covad Communications as Senior Counsel, and from 1998 to 2000 as Director of Congressional Affairs at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA). Ms. Baker earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington & Lee University, and a law degree from the University of Houston.