Rational 360 is a lobbying firm led and staffed by numerous former federal employees, most notably former Clinton White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart. Rational 360 formed in 2009 from a merger of Rational PR and Stevens and Schriefer Group. ¹

Clients

Rational 360 was revealed to be a creditor of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, after the latter’s bankruptcy. ² Rational 360 advocated on behalf of FTX, specifically to support pro-cryptocurrency Rostin Behnam, the Biden administration’s chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and to support a bill that would move regulatory authority over cryptocurrency to the CFTC. ³

Rational 360 serves many pro-Israel clients, including Pro-Israel America, the Pro-Israel America Action Fund, Democratic Majority for Israel, and Americans for Tomorrow’s Future. ⁴

360 Grasstops

In 2021, Rational 360 launched 360 Grasstops, “a targeted advocacy and indirect lobbying offering” that works by recruiting “advocates with significant influence on U.S. policymakers” to work for private companies. The program is led by Sam Myers, a veteran of the Obama and Biden administrations. ^{5 6}

Leadership

Patrick Dorton

Patrick Dorton is the chief executive officer and managing director of Rational 360. In the early 2000s, Dorton was the North American PR director of Arthur Andersen while it served as the primary accounting firm for Enron during the firm’s bankruptcy. Dorton’s position partially overlapped with his roles in the White House as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton (D), Communications Director of the National Economic Council, and Director of National Economic Council Communication. Earlier in his career, Dorton worked as Communications Director for then-U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Press Secretary for then-U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Deputy Press Secretary for then-U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). ⁷

Joe Lockhart

Joe Lockhart is the managing director of Rational 360. He joined the firm after Rational 360 bought his own firm, Strategic Heights, in 2020. From 1998 to 2000, Lockhart served as President Bill Clinton’s (D) White House Press Secretary. Prior, Lockhart worked on the presidential campaigns of Walter Mondale (D-MN) and Michael Dukakis (D-MA), a U.S. Senatorial campaign for John Kerry (D-MA), and as an aide to then-U.S. Senator Paul Simon (D-IL). In the 2010s, Lockhart worked as vice president of global communications at Facebook. ^{8 9}

Brian Kaminski

Brain Kaminski is the co-founder, managing director, and healthcare practice chair of Rational 360. Kaminski previously worked for then-U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), the Office of the First Lady, and the Democratic National Committee. ¹⁰

Collin Berglund

Collin Berglund is a managing director and digital practice chair at Rational 360. Berglund previously worked for then-Rhode Island Treasurer Gina Raimondo’s (D-RI) successful gubernatorial campaign, and as digital director and press secretary at No Labels. ¹¹

Sam Myers

Sam Myers is the managing director of Rational 360. Myers worked in a variety of roles in the Obama administration, including in the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Commerce, and as the lead for U.S. delegations. In 2021, Myers helped the Biden administration coordinate its inauguration and advise on political appointments. ¹²

Abigail Sheppard

Abigail Sheppard is a director at Rational 360. She previously contracted with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as a communications associate, and worked as communications director for U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX). Sheppard volunteered for then-U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-TX) unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate. ¹³

Pete Brodnitz

Pete Brodnitz is the head of polling and opinion research at Rational 360. Brodnitiz had worked as a pollster for clients around the world, including U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), former U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D), former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D-PA), Third Way, New Democrat Network, America Votes, and former Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina. ^{14 15}

Robin Lloyd

Robin Lloyd is the senior vice president of Rational 360. Previously, Lloyd worked as the managing director at Giffords, a gun control group. Earlier, Lloyd served as the director of federal affairs for New York City under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and worked for then-Representatives Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX). ¹⁶

Nat Wood

Nat Wood is a managing director at Rational 360. Previously, Wood worked for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and led the team which created IdentityTheft.gov. Prior, Wood was an assistant director of the National Park Service. ¹⁷

1. Murray, Matthew; Palmer, Andrew. “K Street Files: Calling It Quits.” Roll Call. April 24, 2009. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rollcall.com/2009/04/24/k-street-files-calling-it-quits/.
2. Fang, Lee; Klippenstein, Ken; Boguslaw, Daniel. “New FTX Filing Pulls Back The Curtain On Sam Bankman-Fried’s Massive Influence Peddling Operation.” The Intercept. January 30, 2023. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/01/30/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-lobbying-pr/.
3. Stoller, Matt. “The Boring Lobbyists Behind Sam Bankman-Fried.” BIG by Matt Stoller. November 29, 2022. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/the-boring-lobbyists-behind-sam-bankman.
4. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: Rational 360.” Open Secrets. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2022&vendor=Rational+360.
5. “Press Release.” Rational 360. December 20, 2021. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/press-release-rational-360-launches-360-grasstops-adding-targeted-advocacy-as-offering-at-growing-strategic-communications-digital-advocacy-agency/.
6. “Sam Myers.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/sam-myers/.
7. “Patrick Dorton.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-dorton-0047a/.
8. “Joe Lockhart.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/joe-lockhart/.
9. “Rational 360 Adds Former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart as Partner.” CISION. July 13, 2020. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rational-360-adds-former-white-house-press-secretary-joe-lockhart-as-partner-301091943.html.
10. “Brian Kaminski.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/brian-kaminski/.
11. “Collin Berglund.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/collin-berglund/.
12. “Sam Myers.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/sam-myers/.
13. “Abigail Sheppard.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/abigail-sheppard/.
14. “Pete Brodnitz.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/pete-brodnitz/.
15. “Pete Brodnitz.” Ballotpedia. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://ballotpedia.org/Pete_Brodnitz.
16. ^[1] “Robin Lloyd.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/robin-lloyd/.
17. ^[1] “Nat Wood.” Rational 360. Accessed February 11, 2023. https://rational360.com/personnel/nat-wood/.