Pitt Hires Anthony (Tony) Gibson to Lead Washington, D.C., Office

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh Office of Community and Governmental Relations announced that Tony Gibson has been hired as executive director of federal relations and will lead the University’s Washington, D.C., office. Prior to his appointment at Pitt, he held the role of senior adviser for legislative affairs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), where he has worked for nearly 15 years.

“As a proven policy and political adviser with more than 20 years of experience in Washington, Tony is an exceptional fit to lead our D.C. office,” said Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. “He will elevate our University’s presence in D.C. and also create a wealth of opportunities for collaboration at the federal level.”

“Tony will coordinate and leverage Pitt research opportunities, government affairs and collaboration with executive agencies and Congress. Having a dedicated presence in Washington will allow us to bring the University’s expertise and resources to policymakers in D.C. in a much more focused way,” said Paul Supowitz, vice chancellor for community and governmental relations.

“I am extremely excited to be joining the University of Pittsburgh and its strong team in Community and Governmental Relations,” Tony Gibson said. “Pitt’s excellence in research and its ability to provide real answers to the most vexing problems facing the nation are captivating. I greatly look forward to working with policymakers to ensure they understand the tremendous strength that Pitt has in translating excellence into action for the state, the region and the national science and technology enterprise.”

Gibson, who began his career in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1993, moved to the White House Science and Technology Office in 1997 before joining the National Science Foundation in 2002 as a senior legislative policy analyst. During his time at NSF, he worked as a congressional affairs group leader and legislative division director before moving into his role as senior adviser for legislative affairs. As senior adviser, he was responsible for the leadership of the NSF’s strategic legislative posture and operations and the planning and coordination of the foundation’s legislative outreach to policymakers.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and international and comparative relations at Northern Arizona University and a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies at the Naval War College as well as post-graduate executive-level training at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the U.S. government’s Federal Executive Institute. Gibson will join the University on April 17.

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4/6/17/jw