# The Conafay Group

> The Conafay Group is a Washington, D.C. government relations and consulting firm that helps life-sciences companies, universities, research institutions, and health coalitions pursue federal funding, shape policy, and build partnerships. Its differentiator is a team drawn from both science and government: people who can understand a biomedical program and also explain why it fits the priorities of Congress, BARDA, NIH, the Department of Defense, and other federal stakeholders.

- **Founded:** 2012
- **Headquarters:** Washington, United States
- **Founders:** Stephen R. Conafay (Founder)
- **Products:** Federal Government Relations, Non-Dilutive Funding Strategy, Academic Research Development, Coalition Development and Management, Partnership Development
- **Notable:** The company says it helped secure $80 million in funding for clients in 2024 and supported another $60 million in funding efforts by mid-2025., George Mason University reported that the firm helped investigators submit 18 full proposals in 2020, with $3.25 million awarded at the time of reporting, while supporting 46 faculty members and teams and hosting four funding workshops., The team reports more than 200 years of combined experience in government relations, life sciences, biotechnology, and academic research.

## Products & services

- **Federal Government Relations** — Strategy and advocacy before Congress, federal agencies, and associated stakeholders for life-sciences, academic, research, and medical-technology organizations.
- **Non-Dilutive Funding Strategy** — Identification and pursuit of federal R&D funding from organizations including BARDA, NIH, and the Department of Defense, designed to advance programs without surrendering equity.
- **Academic Research Development** — Agency intelligence, proposal vetting, grant strategy, workshops, relationship development, and partnership formation for university researchers and research institutions.
- **Coalition Development and Management** — Formation and management of alliances, advocacy campaigns, stakeholder engagement, and policy initiatives around shared biomedical and health priorities.
- **Partnership Development** — Public-private, academic, philanthropic, nonprofit, industry, and business-to-business connections intended to strengthen client programs and routes to market or funding.

## Achievements

- The company says it helped secure $80 million in funding for clients in 2024 and supported another $60 million in funding efforts by mid-2025.
- George Mason University reported that the firm helped investigators submit 18 full proposals in 2020, with $3.25 million awarded at the time of reporting, while supporting 46 faculty members and teams and hosting four funding workshops.
- The team reports more than 200 years of combined experience in government relations, life sciences, biotechnology, and academic research.
- Jessica Kenyon advanced from joining the firm in 2016 to senior vice president and managing director in 2021 and chief executive officer in 2023.
- The firm has remained active in federal lobbying disclosures from 2012 through 2026 and had represented 75 disclosed clients in the LegiList aggregation viewed during research.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Team members attended the Military Health System Research Symposium and co-hosted a reception with MTEC and Sia/LBG for the military-medical research community.
- **2026-07** — The firm presented an MTEC briefing on FY2027 appropriations, defense authorization, and near-term BARDA priorities for national health security.
- **2026-06** — Josh Narrow was promoted to vice president after more than eight years advising life-sciences and biodefense clients.
- **2025-09** — Jessica Kenyon discussed peer advisory support and the decision not to lead in isolation on the Grounded Toward Growth podcast.
- **2025-07** — Kenyon discussed accidental entrepreneurship, leadership transition, optimism, and trusting one’s instincts on Succession Stories.

## Links

- Website: https://www.conafaygroup.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-conafay-group
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/theconafaygroup
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/people/The-Conafay-Group/100070422125503/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/the-conafay-group
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-20