Our Team
Led by former elected officials, senior advisors, and policy experts, our team brings unparalleled knowledge of government processes and effective advocacy strategies.
David K. Shapiro
Founder & Principal
Prior to starting Bay State Strategies, Mr. Shapiro was a Senior Policy Advisor at the law firm of Holland & Knight. Mr. Shapiro has extensive experience on issues relating to legislative and administrative lobbying, state procurement and contracting, military base redevelopment and airline and aviation companies. He served as Budget Director of the Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee, and as such was the principal non-elected budget writer for the House of Representatives and policy advisor to the House Ways and Means-Chairman and various other committee chairmen. Mr. Shapiro also served on Governor Patrick’s and Governor Baker’s transition teams. Mr. Shapiro is a graduate of Union College in NY, and currently lives in Natick, MA with his family.
Robert (Bob) Bernstein
Founder & Principal
Prior to starting Bay State Strategies, Mr. Bernstein was a Partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight whose primary area of practice was Public Policy & Regulation. Mr. Bernstein has considerable experience in developing and implementing legislative and regulatory strategies for clients, together with representing client interests before the legislative and executive branches of state and local government. A former Massachusetts State Senator, Mr. Bernstein served as chairman of the state Senate’s Insurance Committee, Criminal Justice Committee, Energy Committee and Election Laws Committee. Mr. Bernstein was also the vice chairman of the Banks and Banking Committee and served as a member of the Taxation and Health Care Committees as well as several special task forces and commissions.
Frank Shea
Director
Before joining Bay State Strategies, Mr. Shea was a Senior Public Affairs Advisor at Holland & Knight. Mr. Shea brings extensive experience in researching and analyzing policy issues and developing political strategies for members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Mr. Shea served as Senior Legislative and Political Advisor to the House Speaker. Prior to his experience as Senior Legislative and Political Advisor, Mr. Shea was the Legislative Deputy to the Chief of Staff and Campaign Director for Speaker Finneran. Mr. Shea recently served as co-chair of Governor-elect Baker’s Inaugural Committee and is a member of his Finance Committee.
Mike Guerin
Strategic Partner
Mr. Guerin joins Bay State Strategies Group having spent more than 35 years in Massachusetts state government and information technology. Mr. Guerin has extensive experience and deep relationships across Massachusetts state government and has been instrumental in the procurement and implementation of many critical infrastructure and public facing systems across the Executive Branch agencies.
Mr. Guerin most recently served as Secretariat Chief Information Officer (SCIO) for Health & Human Services, other held positions include Secretariat CIO for Administration & Finance, CIO for Department of Revenue and Bureau Chief at Department of Revenue.
Grace Durant
Associate
Ms. Durant worked in Vermont and Massachusetts state legislatures in varying capacities for 5 years prior to joining Bay State Strategies. Most recently, Ms. Durant worked in the Healey Administration for the Massachusetts Governor’s Council. With a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Vermont and a Master of Science in Policy and Sustainability from Tufts University, Ms. Durant specializes in client matters related to the environment, energy, public health, and pharmaceuticals.