Nexus Public Affairs is a political consulting and public relations firm based in Annapolis, Maryland. ^{1 2} It was founded by Rob Shrum, a consultant with experience at Multistate, National Taxpayers Union, and CTIA – The Wireless Association. ³

Background

Nexus Public Affairs is a political consulting and public relations firm founded by Rob Shrum, a consultant with experience at Multistate, National Taxpayers Union, and CTIA – The Wireless Association. ³ It is located in Annapolis, Maryland. ²

Activities

Nexus Public Affair’s flagship program is Nexus Policy Intelligence, a data insight strategy system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) aimed to inform users, principally corporate government affairs departments, trade associations, and public affairs firms, on legislation and policy. It sells the program as a way for its clients to engineer strategic communications platforms and plan advocacy campaigns and says it will tailor the insights to the clients’ interests. ^{1 4}

Nexus claims that Nexus Policy Intelligence can trace if a campaign is a “true grassroots” effort or if it is funded by influencer entities. It claims to analyze “legislative language patters” and “corporate-aligned messaging.” ⁵

Nexus Policy Intelligence has three main components: Nexus Policy Analyst, Nexus Policy Advocate, and Nexus Policy Architect. ¹

Nexus Policy Analyst offers AI software that compares bills and measures the effect that legislation has had or is projected to have. The software also identifies important people or processes that will have an influence on the activation of clients’ proposed policies. Nexus’s professionals prepare policy reports for its clients based on these insights. ¹

Nexus Policy Advocacy covers communication strategies, using AI to develop talking points on bills and regulations, provide better framing on such topics, and create messaging rhetoric to be used in media campaigns, public relations, and lobbying efforts. ¹

Nexus Policy Architect maps out policy execution plans, delivering reports on coalition-building and policy projections for firms with advocacy goals. It purports to be ongoing, adjusting its recommendations and messaging strategies based on current data. ¹

Its other program, Nexus Public Affairs Strategy and Stakeholder Solutions, is a more traditional political consulting program, offering five services: “Coalition Management and External Affairs,” “Strategic Government Affairs Solutions,” “Advocacy campaigns and consulting,” “Communications and Public Relations,” and “Marketing and Promotion.” ¹

Nexus Public Affairs purports to specialize in building coalitions, “from industry alliances to grassroots networks” to boost a client’s profile and measure results. Its government affairs component helps clients grasp regulatory and legislative rules at the local, state, and national levels. Its campaign consulting division helps clients mobilize at the so-called grassroots level and engage in digital advocacy. Its communications division helps clients influence public opinion as well as design internal messaging for their teams. Its marketing division offers event planning, “influencer marketing,” and media training. ¹

Leadership

As of 2025, Nexus Public Affairs founder Rob Shrum was its CEO. Prior to founding Nexus, Shrum worked as the lead external affairs and stakeholder engagement consultant at Multistate, a state and local government relations company. He also held leadership positions at the National Taxpayers Union and National Taxpayers Union Foundation. He also previously led grassroots advocacy efforts at CTIA – The Wireless Association and worked at the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Tax Foundation. ³

1. “Services.” Nexus Public Affairs. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://www.nexuspa.com/services.
2. “Contact Us.” Nexus Public Affairs. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://www.nexuspa.com/contact.
3. “About.” Nexus Public Affairs. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://www.nexuspa.com/about.
4. Shrum, Rob. “Introducing Nexus Policy Intelligence: Merging Human Expertise with AI for Superior Policy Advocacy.” Nexus Public Affairs. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://www.nexuspa.com/blog/introducing-nexus-policy-intelligence-merging-human-expertise-with-ai-for-superior-policy-advocacy.
5. Post. Nexus Public Affairs, X, March 25, 2025. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://x.com/NexusPA/status/1904709849545388479.