Ron Sorini manages the firm's business development, consulting, and lobbying practice, which focus on legislation, regulatory affairs and international trade negotiations. He represents a wide range of companies and trade associations before the U.S. Congress and various governments. Ron's unique combination of government, political, and corporate experience enables him to offer well-rounded strategic advice and international market analysis to multinational corporations and foreign governments. A recognized expert in the areas of trade negotiations, international politics, and the economy, Ron has been featured on NPR including All Things Considered and Planet Money, CNBC, Voice of America, and others. Prior to founding Sorini, Samet & Associates, Ron ran a successful government affairs practice of an international trade law firm for eight years. Ron created and developed this practice into a multi-million dollar business, where he served on the firm's operating committee and managed the practice's business development and trade negotiations. After serving in the administration of President George H. W. Bush, Ron served as Senior Vice President for International Development & Government Relations at Fruit of the Loom for six years. At Fruit of the Loom, Ron conducted an intensive study on the Chinese market, identified potential business partners, and began negotiations on a manufacturing/marketing joint venture. He also analyzed new locations for manufacturing facilities in Mexico and Central America, and developed strategies for hedging in the international cotton market. He developed and advocated company positions on trade, tax, and regulatory issues before the U.S. Government. Ron also started and managed the company's Political Action Committee. Ron has more than thirteen years of experience in high-level positions in the federal government at the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). In 1989, Ron was appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the position of Chief Textile Negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), holding the rank of Ambassador. Ron advised the U.S. Trade Representative, the Cabinet, and the President on domestic and international economic issues. He developed and implemented policies to enhance the international competitiveness of the U.S. fiber, textile, and apparel industries. Ron chaired U.S. delegations in the negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Uruguay Round, which lead to the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and bilateral agreements with more than fifty nations. He developed U.S. negotiating positions, weighing the views of other government agencies, domestic industry, retailers and broader economic and foreign policy considerations. His successful negotiations opened foreign markets for domestic manufacturers, helped U.S. companies with trademark and design counterfeiting problems, and worked with the U.S. Customs Service to identify and eliminate fraud and circumvention of U.S. trade agreements.

Andrew Samet develops, implements, and manages the firm’s consulting and lobbying practice on international trade negotiations and legislation. He counsels U.S. and foreign clients on trade agreements, legislation in the Congress, and decisions by the Executive Branch that impact their global interests. He also provides strategic advice on global markets, and crisis management on international labor and social responsibility issues. He has worked for clients throughout Asia, Latin America and Africa – and in various industrial sectors including apparel, footwear, and agriculture. Andrew has more than three decades of experience in law practice, government policy development, international negotiations, and program implementation related to international trade issues. He has also served as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank and the Ministers responsible for trade and labor from the countries of Central America, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia on the complex labor issues linked to free trade agreements. Most recently, Mr. Samet has worked on labor complaints under free trade agreements with Jordan, Costa Rica, Bahrain and the Dominican Republic. Prior to co-founding Sorini, Samet & Associates, Andrew served as Deputy Under Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration, where he was responsible for all international activities of the Department of Labor, and was a member of the senior sub-cabinet deputies group of the White House National Economic Council for international policy decisions. He also represented the United States on the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization. Among his accomplishments within the organization was his negotiation of the 1999 ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor and the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. In addition, he was responsible for the implementation of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, the labor agreement that accompanied NAFTA. He also represented the Department of Labor at meetings of the OECD and the WTO, including the Singapore and Seattle ministerial meetings. Andrew joined the Clinton administration in 1993 after serving on the staff of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York for six years, primarily as Legislative Director. In that capacity, he worked on the 1988 and 1990 Trade Acts and the 1991 fast track legislation, as well as clean air and surface transportation bills. Andrew has also served as a professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Before joining the staff of Sen. Moynihan, Andrew practiced international trade law.

Rick Helfenbein, Special Advisor for Sorini, Samet & Associates clients is the former Chairman, President & CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (“AAFA”), the national trade association representing more than 1,000 brands in the apparel, footwear, and accessories industry. At AAFA, Mr. Helfenbein oversaw a complete overhaul of the association. Under his leadership, AAFA dramatically increased its revenue base, re-branded itself with a new logo, website, newsletter and increased AAFA’s presence on Capitol Hill, achieving notable legislative victories. Mr. Helfenbein also increased AAFA’s national and international exposure, with notable press coverage in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and Forbes. He also appears on CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, BBC, and Fox.. Prior to joining AAFA as President & CEO, Mr. Helfenbein served on the AAFA Board for 10 years and had risen to be a two term Chairman of their Board of Directors. At that time, he also served as President of all USA operations for Luen Thai Holdings Limited - USA Companies in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and California. Luen Thai was the largest publicly listed apparel manufacturing and supply chain services company on the Hong Kong Exchange with a major presence in the Philippines & Cambodia. Customers included Polo Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, Dillard’s, Banana Republic, Adidas, Victoria's Secret, Macys, Adidas, and Uniqlo in Japan. Mr. Helfenbein started at Luen Thai as the USA Representative when the company maintained approximately $300 million in annual sales. When he left (after 16 years to lead AAFA full time), Luen Thai’s annual volume had quadrupled to $1.3 billion. Mr. Helfenbein has been credited with numerous achievements in the apparel and supply chain field, including the creation of the original Le Tigre brand, and splitting Izod from Lacoste. He introduced Burlington Industries into the apparel manufacturing segment, turned around two ailing apparel companies, and developed the apparel structure for several popular global brands. Mr. Helfenbein served on the management boards of Campus Sportswear, Crystal Brands (Lacoste), and the Board of Blythedale Children's Hospital in New York. Prior to Luen Thai, he served as a President at Lacoste and as a Managing Director at Burlington Industries. Rick holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton Business School. He participates annually in the Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing at Wharton and Harvard and guest lectures at Wharton, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell and continues to provide commentary on national & international TV as well as in Forbes and other print media.

As Vice President of Government Relations at SSA, Mattie Amagai provides strategic, political and technical advice on policy, legislative and regulatory matters relating to trade. In this capacity, she works as part of a team to deliver expertise and creative solutions to trade challenges for various businesses and associations. Before joining SSA, Mattie served as Vice President of Client Services at a government relations consulting firm, managing government affairs programs for numerous clients in the advanced manufacturing, energy and high-tech sectors. This includes tracking and advising on US federal and state policy developments for one of the world’s largest energy companies and managing their congressional relations activities. Mattie provided in-depth reporting and analysis on various trade and international policy issues for global companies and foreign sovereigns including CFIUS reform, Section 201 and 301 tariff issues, US sanctions policy, GSP exclusions, AD/CVD cases, various trade-related legislation and geopolitical matters, among other issues. Mattie has also advised companies from around the world on US and international market entry, including regulatory and policy considerations, relationship building and analyses of the various markets and politics. She has collaborated closely with international partners in these efforts particularly in Asia and South America. In her early career, Mattie managed international USAID-funded political party development projects in the Eurasian region, with a particular focus on Moldova and Belarus. She coordinated regularly with the USG and overseas offices, helped to arrange high level delegations and provided briefings and talking points to Members of Congress on issues impacting the region. Mattie helped to arrange and participated in election observation missions in Donetsk and Zhytomyr, Ukraine, as well as several in Moldova. Mattie also served briefly on a presidential campaign and as an intern on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, focusing on immigration issues. Mattie is a graduate of Bowdoin College, where she received a degree in Government/International Relations and Russian Language. She lives in Mount Vernon, Virginia with her husband Bryan, son Theodore, and two cats.

Megan Costello combines her technical expertise and ability to navigate Washington’s dynamic challenges to deliver comprehensive solutions for a diverse range of international trade and customs issues. She excels at translating the technical nuances of proposed legislative or regulatory policy into real world impacts, and develops comprehensive business strategy for clients. Megan spearheads the Ship Safe Coalition, a group of U.S. stakeholders working to amend U.S. law to allow for Section 321 de minimis entry from U.S. Foreign Trade Zones (“FTZ”). This eliminates the powerful and growing economic incentive for companies to use foreign e-commerce distribution facilities instead of U.S.-based operations. Importantly, it also alleviates American consumers’ and Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP”) health and safety concerns over package contents because shipments originating from U.S. FTZs are inherently safe. Megan has worked behalf of small businesses, multinational corporations, domestic and foreign industry associations, and foreign governments. She is SSA’s resident expert on securing product removals and exclusions from Section 301 China tariffs, crafting Miscellaneous Tariff Bills (“MTBS”), and assessing preferential eligibility under trade agreements and preference programs., among other things. Before joining SSA, Megan was the Manager of Government Affairs for Samsung Electronics America, Inc. Megan is a 2003 graduate of James Madison University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs. She also holds a Master’s in Public Administration from George Mason University. She loves anything outdoors, especially biking and hiking. She resides just across the bridge in Alexandria, VA with her fur baby Rex, a 12.5-year-old cockapoo.

Akshay Sinha focuses on consulting and government relations and provides strategic advice related to policy and legislative developments in supply chain management across the world. He undertakes research and advises clients on the impact of free trade agreements, with particular emphasis on labor issues and industrial relations. He also monitors upcoming trends and recent initiatives undertaken by governments, international organizations, trade associations and civil society organizations to improve supply chain efficiencies and labor compliance around the world. Previously, Mr. Sinha has worked for KPMG Advisory Services Private Limited in South Asia as a management consultant and subject matter expert specializing in business process improvement, institutional strengthening and organization structuring. He has advised both public and private sector clients across industries such as energy, mining, infrastructure, textiles and pharmaceuticals. He has also led business development initiatives and has articulated thought leadership articles in the areas of business process improvement and workforce optimization. Through his academic and professional career, Mr. Sinha has maintained an avid interest in qualitative and quantitative research, and is currently working on papers related to governance and regulation in the energy sector around the world.

Andrea “Andi” Curtis provides our clients with expert advice on all matters related to classification of imports under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, both for finished products, parts, and raw materials. Andi helps our clients understand the requirements for meeting rules of origin, including under free trade agreements and preference programs. Andi joined the firm after several years at Cabela’s Inc., leading a team of classification specialists in their Global Trade department. Prior to joining Cabela’s Global Trade team in 2013, she held various roles in apparel product development for 15 years. This knowledge and experience provided the perfect background to perform true tariff engineering – bridging the gap between design and import classification and enabling designers and product developers to understand how design, materials and construction affect duty rates. She helped achieve lower duty rates in apparel, footwear and hardgoods through education and training of the product development team, developing a process to review design concepts and perform pre-classification during initial development and submitting successful Customs ruling requests. In her unique role at Cabela’s, Andi ensured that Cabela’s products complied with Customs and Border Protection guidelines by setting up product development testing protocols, maintaining pre-qualification paperwork for Free Trade Agreements and conducting audits of existing classifications. Andi earned an MS in Textile Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and maintains memberships in both ASTM International and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC ). In 2016, she became a Certified Classification Specialist®. Andi served two terms in the Professional Advisory Council for the UNL Textile, Merchandising and Fashion Design department. In her free time, Andi enjoys sewing, doing home improvement projects and volunteering with children in her community.

Molly Cannon joined SSA in November 2022 and is responsible for coordinating SSA’s dynamic schedule and providing critical administrative support. She is also working to optimize SSA’s online presence. Prior to this role, Molly was an intern, assistant and then Legislative Aide for a Maryland State Senator from 2020 to 2022. She earned her BA in Public Policy from the University of Maryland in 2021. During her undergrad years, she interned for the Maryland Association of Counties, the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, and the Maryland General Assembly. Molly was born and raised in Maryland, where she still resides. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and playing the piano.

Jackson House joined Sorini, Samet & Associates in November 2024 as a Policy Associate. In this role, Jackson conducts research on a wide breadth of trade issues, drafts materials for policy briefings, analyzes trade data to promote client interests, and supports all firm advocacy efforts. Just before joining SSA, Jackson worked as an intern for the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) in Washington, DC. While at WITA, he helped coordinate over a dozen trade-related webinars and in-person events, conducted weekly research on new trade policy developments, and assisted in managing relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders. In May 2024, Jackson graduated from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri with a BA in Economics and Political Science. While attending Saint Louis University, he completed internships with the Office of former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, the Arkansas Department of Commerce, and the Washington, DC office of Congressman French Hill (AR-02). Jackson is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. When not at work, he is a passionate fan of college football and the Arkansas Razorbacks. He also enjoys watching professional hockey, especially the St. Louis Blues, engaging with Washington, DC’s rich history, and reading.

Lee Johnson is a veteran Washington professional with a distinguished record of public service, private counseling and advocacy for organizations that must navigate the governmental, political and judicial environment of the United States. He began his career after graduation from law school with political campaign work on behalf of the Republican National Committee and the Presidential campaign of Ronald Reagan, followed by service in the Office of Congressional Affairs for the Federal Trade Commission. He served in senior positions on Capitol Hill, including as Chief of Staff and Legal Counsel for two Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, E. Clay Shaw, Jr., Chairman of the Trade Subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee, and J. Kenneth Robinson, a respected member of the House Appropriations and Intelligence Committees. Lee later moved to the U.S. Senate, where he held the positions of Leadership Chief of Staff for U.S. Senate Republican Conference Chairman and Vice Chairman, Connie Mack of Florida and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. In his role as chief of staff for the Conference, Lee was responsible for communications on behalf of the leadership, including television, radio, Intranet support, and the “message of the day” from the Senate floor. When Lee was not in public service, he was affiliated with law firms in Florida and Washington, and with two of America’s leading public relations firms, Burson/Marsteller, where he was a Managing Director and head of the Grassroots Division in the Public Affairs Group; and Golin Harris, where he was Vice President of Public Affairs. He also represented the international office building industry as Legislative Counsel for BOMA International in its Washington DC headquarters. He formed a media company, Congressional Media Group, LLC, to create and produce television and video content for clients. He also formed a public affairs group, 101 Strategy Partners, LLC, to operate as a consortium of professionals with complementary skill sets. Included within this group are experts in media and communications, polling, lobbying, advertising and public relations, and high-level leadership counsel provided by retired general officers who served as former commanders of the National Guard Bureau and special forces of the United States Marine Corps. In the non-profit sector, Lee is the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Washington Political Film Foundation, an educational foundation which uses film as a medium to promote civility and dialogue in American society with a special emphasis on college campuses. Lee is a graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, with a B.A. degree in History. His law degree is from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Lee is a member of the District of Columbia, State of Florida, and United States Supreme Court Bars. He was a Navy ROTC Scholarship student as an undergraduate in college and served as a midshipman aboard USS Kretchmer (DER 329), as part of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CV 11) task force, North Atlantic, summer 1972. Among his enduring memories of public service is an encounter on the Senate floor with former Senate President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Impressed by the Senator’s orations regarding the history of republican Rome and its constitution, Lee engaged in a conversation with the Senator about the historians of the classical ages of Greece and Rome. Senator Byrd’s belief was that America’s Founders drew upon the history of the Roman Senate when they designed America’s constitutional system and provided its Senate with unique powers as a check upon the executive branch. Senator Byrd later presented Lee with a personal copy of his book, The Senate of the Roman Republic: Addresses on the History of Roman Constitutionalism, which is among the most treasured of Lee’s library collection.