Jake Anderegg

Principal Partner

​Jake Anderegg is a former Utah State Legislator with over 11 years of legislative experience. He served four years in the Utah House of Representatives and over seven years in the Utah State Senate where he learned to maneuver through the intricacies of the legislative policy and appropriations processes. He continues to have long standing relationships with most legislators, as well as with the Governor and many Executive Branch agency directors and deputy directors.

During his legislative tenure Jake served as the Chair for the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee, Utah’s largest subcommittee budget of over 9 billion dollars, the Chair of the Utah Commission on Housing Affordability, the Chair of the Administrative Rules and General Government Oversight Committee, and the Chair of the International Trade and Relations Committee. In addition, he served 11 years on the Transportation Standing Committee and four years on the Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee, as well as other important committees.

Prior to his legislative experience, Jake worked as the Norther Utah Director for United States Senator Mike Lee where he cultivated relationships across the United States Congressional landscape as well as throughout many Federal Executive Branch agencies. Additionally, he established a great working relationship with many local County Commissioners, City Mayors, City Councils, and Municipal Business and City Managers.

He is a business entrepreneur with over 24 years of business development and managementexperience in the industries of banking,  real estate, insurance, technology development and SaaS, infrastructure, recycling, economic development, energy development and tourism.

He is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in Economics (2001), and graduated from Westminster College with a Master’s in Business Administration (2004). He has been married for almost 27 years and has five amazing children and one grandchild.

Robert Axson

Principal Partner

Robert Axson is a Utah native with years of strong entrepreneurial and innovative leadership focused on political collaboration and policy results. In addition to extensive political and campaign experience assisting dozens of candidates and campaigns, Robert spent over thirteen years working for Senator Mike Lee of Utah.

Over his time working in the Senate, Robert built legislative success and expertise as a Legislative Assistant in Washington DC focused on tech, energy, land, commerce, and government regulation. He later returned to Utah and served as the State Director for Senator Lee managing multiple offices and a large staff where he built meaningful relationships and successful initiatives throughout all of Utah’s 29 counties and across the State’s diverse industries.

On behalf of his clients, Robert brings a deep network of relationships, experience, and expertise to the partnership and delivers strong results in strategic planning, business development, lobbying and government affairs. His professional focus has been toward the promotion of connected communities, family-oriented initiatives encouraging opportunity and economic mobility, the protection of individual rights, and the advancement of free-market foundations.

Robert serves as the elected Chairman of the Utah Republican Party where he has built a reputation of focused strategy, consistent and trusted stewardship, and commitment to principled policy promotion. As a certified sexual assault victims advocate, Robert looks for opportunities to bring healing and safety to families and communities.

Robert and his wife Erin are residents of Cottonwood Heights and are the parents to three sons and a daughter—adventures, reading, baseball, travel, and impromptu laughter are what you’ll find with this crew.

Melissa Freigang

Associate Lobbyist

Melissa Freigang is a trailblazer in design intervention and social innovation, embodying the principles of impact and integrity while, advancing the frontier of community empowerment. With a proven track record spanning public and private sectors, Melissa brings expertise in workforce development, systems thinking, social impact, policy implementation, and strategy to every endeavor.

As the visionary founding director of the Weber Prosperity Center of Excellence, Melissa spearheaded initiatives targeting complex social issues, particularly intergenerational poverty. Leveraging her expertise in economic, community, and social development alongside masteryof  human-centered design principles, she drove initiatives breaking cycles of poverty, homelessness, and workforce shortages, fostering resilience and opportunity.

Melissa’s entrepreneurial spirit shines through her founding of Bee Willing, L3C, and other social enterprises, showcasing her ability to blend intelligence with creativity to achieve tangible impacts. Her experience in grant writing secures vital funding and builds community capacity. These ventures serve as models for effective economic development strategies, uplifting and sustaining communities.

At the core of Melissa’s approach lies her strategic acumen, epitomized by the development of the Integrated Community Action Now (ICAN) model. This groundbreaking framework empowers vulnerable families to thrive economically, delivering significant benefits beyond Utah’s borders.

Her leadership roles in organizations like the Governor’s Commission on Women in the Economy, the Salvation Army, and as External Relations Director at Youth Futures underscore her commitment to advancing social justice, equality, and strategic thinking, particularly  in addressing youth homelessness. Most importantly, she cherishes her role as a mother to two remarkable sons, striking a balance between career and family life.

Melissa Freigang’s unique skills and dedication render her indispensable to any project or organization. Through leadership, creativity, and strategic vision, she inspires positive change and resilience on a global scale.

Neil Allred

Associate

Neil Allred is a professional with over 20 years in the health and human services industry. He is known for his strong communication skills, strategic thinking, and ability to build and maintain relationships with key decision-makers.

Neil is committed to promoting policies that serve the best interests of his clients and driving positive change through effective advocacy. As a government relations lobbyist, he is dedicated to navigating the political landscape with integrity and professionalism, always striving to uphold the highest ethical standards.

Neil received his Bachelors of Science with an emphasis in Psychology from Utah Valley State College in 2004. He went on to receive his Master of Business Administration from Utah Valley University in 2013.

Neil, the youngest of three, grew up in a small farming community near Delta, Utah, where he learned the value of hard work from an early age. He went on to serve a mission for his church, in Australia where he served for 2 years. He now resides in Lehi, Utah. Neil, along with his wife and three children, are deeply engaged in their community involvement and volunteering.

He looks forward to leveraging his expertise and hard work to drive successful outcomes for you.

Thomas Young, Ph.D.

Associate Lobbyist & Economist

Thomas is an economic adviser. Until 2021, he led much of the economics work of the Utah Legislature over the past decade, including tax reform, budget stress testing, revenue forecasting, evaluation of economic development incentives, public education forecasting, and prison relocation, to name a few. He has presented at numerous national and local conferences, including the National Conference of State Legisaltures, the Regional Economic Models Incorporated Annual Conference, and the Federation for Tax Administrators, among others. Past awards include (in conjunction with colleagues) the 2018 New York Times ranking of fourth most accurate presidential primary polling results, the 2016 Bloomberg Politics award for the most accurate Presidential Primary polls, and part of the team voted as Top 5 Economists among EB-5 experts.

Thomas takes an eclectic approach to economics, public policy, and the world at large, drawing on his experience in economics, physics, politics, investing, and modeling to develop options for clients that consider all the potential impacts of whatever the subject is at hand.

He holds a Ph.D. in business economics with fields in finance, econometrics, and industrial organization (antitrust). He is a licensed appraiser, a certified arbitrator with FINRA, and a certified tax professional. He is a member of the American Economic Association, the National Association for Forensic Economics, the National Association for Business Economics, the American Finance Association, the Econometrics Society, and the International Association of Assessing Officers.

When not working, Thomas loves spending time with Allison and their four daughters and playing/watching basketball, football, and baseball.

Tyler Durfee

Associate Lobbyist

Tyler Durfee is a policy analyst and grant manager with a focus on housing policy, community development, and disaster resilience. He has experience with project management, branding, public engagement, data analysis, grant writing, grant management, software integration, regulatory compliance, political strategy, and policy research.

Tyler takes a systematic and data-driven approach to solving problems in the public and private sectors. He assesses organizational culture and makes adjustments to the work environment because organizations thrive when their people thrive. He develops key metrics and automates data processes because data reveals hidden problems and informs the strongest solutions. He facilitates effective customer engagement and public outreach because if you focus first on your customers or constituents, then the rest will fall in place. Throughout the process, Tyler values transparency because problems never get resolved when they are hidden. That’s true for both governments and businesses.

Tyler has 7 years of experience in local government, working at the state, county, and municipal levels and 9 years of experience managing teams in both the public and private sectors. He holds a B.A. in political science from Brigham Young University with an emphasis on political strategy.

Tyler has managed $65.6 million dollars in grant funding, including funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (CDBG, ESG, HOME, HOPWA, and the CV variants), U.S. Treasury (ERAP, ARPA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Pre-Disaster Mitigation). Tyler has managed coordination with 69 local partners to implement 196 projects, serving over 98,700 residents.

Tyler has presented at conferences for the National Community Development Association on improving grants management processes and integrating data into risk assessment models. He also co-leads a local digital inclusion task group.  

Tyler earned the rank of Eagle Scout by organizing a community emergency preparedness fair which involved coordinating with 1 state office, 6 local organizations, and 116 volunteers. He served a 2-year Spanish-speaking mission for his church in Salt Lake City and has completed a 1-year term of national service as an AmeriCorps VISTA for Salt Lake County. 

When he is not sifting through spreadsheets he enjoys camping, hiking, and stargazing in Utah’s west desert and playing a range of tabletop miniature games set in both a grim, dark far future and a more hopeful galaxy far, far away.