On this Meet the Team edition of From the Lobby with Jack O’Donnell, host Joanna Pasceri sits down with Jim Moore, Vice President and Policy Director at O’Donnell & Associates, to trace his path from a college student watching the Affordable Care Act unfold to a New York lobbyist helping safety net providers navigate a rapidly changing Medicaid landscape. Moore reflects on his years working for U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer in Western New York and the Southern Tier — including the response to Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 — and explains why federally qualified health centers, substance use disorder providers, and mental health organizations need a strong voice in Albany under the new federal funding rules of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He also shares what keeps him grounded: coaching his son’s hockey team, raising three kids in Buffalo, and finally believing in the Sabres.
Joanna Pasceri
From helping nonprofits secure critical funding to navigating fast moving technologies, our Jim Moore understands how government can and should work for the people. Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell for another episode of Meet the Team. This is where we introduce you to the people who make it all happen at O’Donnell & Associates, a fast growing New York lobbying firm. Today we welcome Jim Moore, Vice President and Policy Director. Jim works at the center of some of the biggest issues facing New York — healthcare, financial services, energy, emerging tech. And he knows how to come through for our clients. Jim, so glad to have you from the lobby.
Jim Moore
Good to be here.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, listen, take us back to the beginning. What drew you into politics and public service?
Jim Moore
My interest in public service and government really started in college. I was an undergrad both during the financial crash of 2008 and then the Affordable Care Act. And I was fortunate enough to have a professor who spent a lot of time on the Hill, and just watching her talk through the mechanics of it all on the Affordable Care Act — there’s two things that drew me in. The first is I’ve always been fascinated by the mechanics of things and how they work, whether that’s engineering or finance or whatever, really getting into the nitty gritty and understanding that. What fascinated me about political science and sort of drew me into this realm of stuff is the added layer of politics and how you draw people into decision making, and watching President Obama work things through in terms of the Affordable Care Act and how he built support for that. I got to watch that in real time in undergrad, and that just absolutely fascinated me. And I went from one summer of doing a finance internship to switching my major from business administration to political science. And it’s just been politics and policy since.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, you spent several years working for Senator Chuck Schumer, first in Western New York and the Southern Tier, and then eventually serving as Deputy Regional Director. What did that experience teach you about how decisions are really made?
Jim Moore
When I was with Senator Schumer, obviously I wasn’t working on the Hill. I was working in the state office. So I got a really interesting view into what I would call representative policy and then the politics of the region. My primary role when I was working for Senator Schumer was Deputy Regional Director for the Southern Tier. And my biggest sort of view into policy was in 2011 — Tropical Storm Lee hit the Southern Tier. Major, major flooding, destroyed schools, destroyed firehouses, et cetera. So my role there was to get money to localities, to work with mayors, town supervisors, county executives, to make sure that they were getting the money they needed from the process to relocate their facilities. Because some of these places had two 500-year floods in the span of a decade. What I learned there — a lot different from actually being on the Hill and negotiating appropriations — I learned how the layers of government interact. Going back to the FEMA example, working with the state Department of Homeland Security and then FEMA and then the local elected officials, you really see every layer of government, and you see that there’s really no such thing as an independent federal decision. There’s all sorts of layers that go into these things. And that’s where I continued to get more and more interested in the mechanics of these things. A, politically, how these decisions are driven, how do you use press to leverage some of that stuff; and B, mechanically, how do you actually get the money out of the federal government, leveraging state Department of Homeland Security, leveraging connections in D.C., things like that. So it was a really interesting view into how all this stuff works, working in the state.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, a big part of your work now focuses on healthcare nonprofits and safety net providers. What are they up against right now, and why is it so important to make sure they have a strong voice in Albany?
Jim Moore
Since — whether you call it HR1 or the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in D.C. — which passed last year, that’s really going to change how Medicaid’s funded and things like that in the state. So I’ve really had to be more innovative in my thinking. We represent federally qualified health centers, substance use disorder providers, and some mental health providers. I think some of the innovative ways that they’re integrating mental health and substance use disorders are really important, because A, it’s more efficient for the state if we’re keeping people out of emergency rooms; and B, it’s better for the patient to have patient-centered care. So continuing to work that and drive that voice — better mental health and reducing substance use disorders — are really important. The other side of this, I would say, is it’s a critical time to make sure we’re continuing progress toward ending the epidemic on HIV. So all those things are really critically important, and finding innovative ways to continue to drive that work — that’s the types of things that make me tick.
Joanna Pasceri
You’ve helped clients secure millions in state and federal funding. When you look back at that, what’s the most rewarding part of your work?
Jim Moore
I think I’m going to go with the obvious answer there, and that’s seeing the tangible results of your work. Whether it’s in healthcare or economic development, the coolest thing is seeing the bricks and mortar of a capital project. We’ve done several huge capital projects here that have come to fruition, and sometimes those take years. I think there’s this image that all this stuff happens in a sort of smoky, shadowy back room, and that’s not really how it works. When you work through these processes and get five tranches of funding for a project that you’ve worked on — I’ve worked on capital projects that have spanned from before my kids were born to now my son’s five. And being able to take him to places like the Strong Museum that we helped build, the expansion — it really feels meaningful, because you see the actual bricks and mortar of your work.
Joanna Pasceri
Now, I know your days can be long, but what do you like to do when you’re not advocating for others?
Jim Moore
Coaching hockey has basically become my second job. My oldest son is in Six Thunder hockey, so that comes with its own politics and mechanics and decision making. Working on that, watching him improve skating and playing hockey, is about as cool as it can be. My younger son’s starting next year, so that job’s going to become twice as hard. But I would say having three kids, it’s being a dad, it’s coaching and watching them develop into little people.
Joanna Pasceri
Now, did you play hockey like our coworker Michael Greco?
Jim Moore
I did. I did. I played growing up in Buffalo and then decided not to play in college. But yeah, so it’s drawn me back to some fun memories from my childhood, working with my kids.
Joanna Pasceri
And you mentioned your hometown is Buffalo. So I have to ask, what do you think of the Sabres? Great run now.
Jim Moore
Long time coming. Long time coming. I’ve been saying I’d wait until March 1st to call it real. And it’s March 3rd, so I think we can call them for real. And Jack Eichel’s back in town this week, so it’s all coming together.
Joanna Pasceri
We’ll be watching closely for that. Well, Jim, what a great talk. Thanks for all you do for our clients and for joining us from the lobby today.
Jim Moore
Thanks, Joanna.
Joanna Pasceri
Jim is a big part of what makes O’Donnell & Associates successful. Stay tuned for more one-on-one conversations with the people behind the work at O’Donnell & Associates. If you’d like to learn more about our team and the expertise we bring to clients, visit our website at odonnellsolutions.com. Thanks for listening, everyone. We’ll be back soon from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell.
