WHO WE ARE

Merribel S. Ayres – President

Merribel S. Ayres, President, of Lighthouse Consulting Group, LLC, has been a leader in the Washington business and political communities for more than two decades. Ms. Ayres founded Lighthouse in 1996 with the objective of providing knowledge-based government and public affairs services to clients focused on energy and environmental policy issues. The firm’s international client base has grown to also include agriculture, insurance and financial interests.

Prior to establishing Lighthouse, Ms. Ayres was CEO of the National Independent Energy Producers where she played a leading role in framing the national debate over increased competition in the electric power industry. Previously, she had been the Director of Government Affairs for Champion International, a major forest products company.

She also served as a press and public affairs officer for the National Commission on Air Quality and as a staff member to the late Congressman William R. Cotter, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and its Trade Subcommittee. Ms. Ayres began her career in journalism as a staff reporter at The Hartford Courant (CT). In addition, she served as a contributing reporter to the New York Times, Connecticut Section.

A prominent expert on energy issues, Ms. Ayres has testified before Congress and appeared before numerous industry and public policy forums. She has been quoted and profiled by national newspapers and leading industry publications, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, National Journal, The Energy Daily, Independent Energy Magazine, Public Utilities Fortnightly and Association Management Magazine.

Ms. Ayres serves on the Board of Directors of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), a Michigan-based electric and gas utility. She is also a Board Member of the United States Energy Association (USEA). Her professional affiliations include: The Aspen Institute’s Energy Forum, the Edison Electric Institute and Eurelectric (the European Union of the Electricity Industry).

She is currently a member of the National Press Club, the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, and the Dean’s Alumni Leadership Council of the Harvard Kennedy School. She was previously a member of the Advisory Council of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Ms. Ayres is an honors graduate of Bryn Mawr College, holds a post-graduate degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and received advanced leadership training at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Tobyn J. Anderson - Senior Vice President

Tobyn J. Anderson Senior Vice President of Lighthouse Consulting Group, LLC, is a lawyer and senior political strategist with over two decades of experience on Capitol Hill, in state government and with the business community. His extensive legislative and regulatory background includes issues related to electric power, coal, natural gas, energy tax policy, and energy and environmental technologies, as well as global climate change and the Clean Air Act. 

Before joining Lighthouse, Mr. Anderson served as Director of Legislative Affairs for the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), where he guided government relations strategies for the competitive power supply industry. Prior to that, he directed government relations and served as Deputy Director for the National Independent Energy Producers (NIEP), one of two national trade groups that merged to form EPSA in 1996.  While at NIEP, Mr. Anderson was a recognized leader in coalition efforts that led to enactment of the landmark Electricity Title of the Energy Policy Act of 1992.

Prior to joining NIEP, Mr. Anderson served as counsel and Legislative Director for United States Senator Kent Conrad (ND) while the Senator was a member of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  He was also a political volunteer and advisor in Conrad’s 1986 campaign that led to his election to the Senate, an upset race in which Conrad defeated a long-term incumbent.

Before coming to Washington, Mr. Anderson served as Assistant Attorney General for the North Dakota Tax Department, where he specialized in oil and gas tax litigation.  During that time, Mr. Anderson argued and won a $6 million assessment case before the Supreme Court of North Dakota.  He began his career as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Mr. Anderson, a recognized authority on the politics of energy and the environment, is a frequent speaker at related seminars and conferences. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the National Energy Resources Organization (NERO) in Washington. An accomplished writer, Mr. Anderson for many years authored the Lighthouse Washington Outlook, a weekly summary and analysis of energy and environmental issues, which Lighthouse produced for clients and subscribers.

Mr. Anderson holds an honors degree in Political Science and a J.D. from the University of North Dakota. 

Michael Fleischer - Vice President

Michael Fleischer, Vice President, Lighthouse Consulting Group, LLC, has more than a decade of experience in legislative and regulatory communications. Mr. Fleischer specializes in designing and implementing lobbying and advocacy campaigns at the federal and state level. He has experience in many issue areas including energy, environment, transportation, and financial services.

Before joining Lighthouse, Mr. Fleischer was Vice President of Public Affairs at Widmeyer Communications, a public policy oriented public affairs firm. At Widmeyer he played a key role in a wide range of successful issues management, legislative and advocacy campaigns.

With a strong background in media and politics, he was the principal staffer for a number of corporate and non-profit clients, including JP Morgan Chase Card Services, Consumers United for Rail Equity (CURE), the Committee for Economic Development (CED) and the United Parcel Service (UPS).

Prior to his time at Widmeyer, Mr. Fleischer worked at The Washington Post, on the national news and politics desk, where he helped cover the Clinton impeachment process, the 1998 congressional elections, the NATO bombings in Serbia and the capitol police shootings.

Mr. Fleischer is a graduate of the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, where he received his J.D., and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from James Madison University. Michael’s extensive travels include the Dominican Republic, France, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela.

lauren a. faber- senior director

Lauren Faber comes to Lighthouse Consulting Group after four years as the Senior Policy Advisor for Climate Change and Energy at the British Embassy in Washington, DC.  Ms. Faber has extensive experience working on energy and climate policy development at the state, federal and international levels, including the coordination of campaigns across large networks.

At the British Embassy, Ms. Faber advised the UK Government on its strategic engagement with the US at all levels of government, as well as with the business, labor, and non-profit communities. She was responsible for maintaining strong relationships with Congress and the Administration, with specific expertise in the areas of emissions trading, competitiveness, international climate finance and negotiations for a post-2012 international agreement on climate change.

Prior to her time at the British Embassy, Ms. Faber worked with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and was a Fellow with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco.

Ms. Faber holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Earth Systems, with a Minor in Economics from Stanford University, and a Master’s degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University.

Martha L. Friedrichs - Government Affairs Manager

Martha L. Friedrichs has served as Lighthouse’s Government Affairs Manager since 1999. She is responsible for assisting in all aspects of government and political affairs activities.

Prior to joining Lighthouse, Ms. Friedrichs spent 10 years in the Washington office of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as the Information and Legislative Affairs Assistant. She tracked legislation relevant to UNDP and the UN system, assisted in informal lobbying activities for US contributions, and monitored overseas activities of the US State Department, USAID and the World Bank.

Prior to joining UNDP, she served as Assistant to the Director for the US Peace Corps.

Ms. Friedrichs holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations, with a French Minor, from St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA.

Tracy wong - Executive Assistant and Office Manager

Tracy Wong serves as Executive Assistant and Office Manager for Lighthouse Consulting Group, LLC.

Before joining Lighthouse, Ms. Wong served as the Executive Assistant and Office Administrator in the Washington, DC, office of Louis Dreyfus Corporation, a global company involved in agriculture, energy and commodity trading.  In that capacity, she directed all office functions, implemented company policies, and planned congressional visits for company executives. She routinely organized high-level meetings, including visits with Prime Ministers of various countries.

Ms. Wong graduated from the Hong Kong College, and earned a degree in Business Administration from the Hawaii Pacific University.  Ms. Wong is fluent in Cantonese and conversant in Mandarin Chinese.