Simon and Company Team
Len Simon founded Simon and Company, Inc. in 1987 to provide targeted Washington representation services to cities and public authorities, the non-profit sector and national organizations interested in federal policies and programs important at the local level. Today he is actively engaged in undertaking these efforts for a wide variety entities, leading the firm’s activities with Congress and the federal executive branch.
Simon has spent the last thirty-five years directly involved in federal urban affairs. He joined the staff of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in March 1977 and became Assistant Executive Director in October 1978, a position he held until July 1986. In that role he was responsible for policy development and legislative affairs in the fields of transportation, environment, infrastructure, natural resources, and telecommunications. The firm works closely with the U.S. Conference of Mayors today.
He holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in public policy from the George Washington University, where he also taught for five years (College of Continuing Education in Washington). He speaks regularly to city governments and public authorities around the country on developments in Washington that impact the local level. His wife Linda is a middle school English teacher with the Montgomery County, MD public School system (MCPS). They have three children, Matthew (1984), Jonathan (1987), and Timothy (1993) and reside in downtown Bethesda, MD where Simon is president of his neighborhood civic group, the Edgemoor Citizen Association (www.edegemoorcitizens.org). He served in 2007-2008 as a member of the Montgomery County Infill Development Task Force which tackled the “mansionization” issue. In July 2010 he was apppointed by the Montgomery Council to be one of eight members of the Commission on County Restructuring.
Rukia Dahir joined Simon and Company in September 2008 as the Director of Legislative Affairs. Prior to joining Simon and Company, Rukia was a Public Policy Assistant at the American Farm Bureau Federation. In that position, she obtained considerable knowledge in working with Congress and federal agencies in a wide range of issues. Rukia received her B.A. degree at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2004. She received her M.A. in Environmental and Resource Policy at The George Washington University in May 2010. She helps guide the firm’s work with Congress and federal agencies in the areas of legislation, grants and special projects. She was awarded a leadership certification at the American University Women & Politics Institute WeLead Program. She currently resides in Fairfax, Virginia with her husband Khadar and daughter Amira.
Brandon Key has been serving Simon and Company clients as an Intergovernmental Affairs Associate since August 2011. With roots in the San Francisco Bay Area and northern California, he holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis, and is now earning a Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. Brandon has extensive political experience working with local, state, and federal candidates throughout California. He has long had an association with Congressman Jerry McNerney of northern California, having both worked in his campaigns and having served as an intern in his Capitol Hill office. He is also a commercially licensed bus operator, having spent more than a year working for Unitrans, a student-operated transit agency.
Jen Covino joined Simon and Company in December 2011 as an Intergovernmental Affairs Associate. A native Bostonian, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and American Studies from Boston University. Jen is a Master of Public Administration candidate at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration in the George Washington University pursuing specializations in Urban Policy and Managing State and Local Governments. Her prior professional experience includes work in the transportation, urban planning and sustainability industries and internships with the Massachusetts State Legislature. She currently resides in the Columbia Heights area of the District of Columbia.
Stephanie Carter has served Simon and Company clients since 1998 with cheerful enthusiasm as Director of Administration. A native Washingtonian, she has also worked for HQ Business Centers in Washington, DC as a staff associate prior to joining Simon and Company. Stephanie is a graduate of Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia where she earned a B.A. in psychology. Stephanie enrolled in Trinity College to pursue her interest in education and working with children and is working on a Masters of Arts in Teaching degree. She is currently engaged to be married and lives in District Heights, Maryland.