ABOUT US
A different way of thinking.
Cascade Advisory is a woman-owned advisory firm specializing in strategic communications and public affairs. The company specializes in manufacturing, clean energy and climate, natural resources, critical minerals, and international development, as well as emerging tech in climate, energy, machine learning, and more. The company’s network of advisors offers clients a wide range of additional expertise depending on need. As part of the company's mission, services are also offered to select small-scale businesses and nonprofits on a sliding scale, ensuring that those with limited resources can still benefit from Cascade's expertise and tailored solutions. Cascade Advisory has a presence in Los Angeles and Washington DC.
Our Story
About Cascade Advisory
After years of being unable to find it elsewhere, Melis Tusiray and Anne Clawson founded Cascade Advisory with a vision to establish a dynamic workplace where team members could flourish and make meaningful contributions. To bring this vision to life, they carefully curated a team of talented and experienced professionals, forming a powerhouse of expertise and knowledge.
Our culture is driven by a transformation mindset, constantly seeking innovative approaches and challenging traditional norms, rather than simply adhering to conventional practices. We have created a team where each individual has deep expertise in relevant subject matter to ensure expertise in every area of each project.
We aren't like the other consulting firms—and that's a good thing.
Meet the Team
Cascade Advisory's team is comprised of highly skilled professionals who bring a diverse range of expertise and experiences to the table. In addition to the leadership team, we have a robust group of consultants and specialized advisors dedicated to delivering exceptional results and providing unparalleled service.
Leadership
Melis Tusiray
President & Co-Founder
Head, Emerging Technologies Practice
Melis Tusiray (she/her) is a seasoned business strategy and operations director with experience in the private, nonprofit, government, and academic sectors. She has a strong track record of coordinating talented teams in organizations such as Epic Media, Vox Media, the American Friends of Bucerius/ZEIT-Stiftung, and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). She has successfully built out operations infrastructure at multiple organizations, and led programs on critical issues like renewable energy, sustainability, and entrepreneurship in the United States, Germany, and East Africa.
Melis is fluent in German and proficient in Turkish. She holds a BA from the University of California Los Angeles, and an MA from Georgetown University.
Anne Clawson
Principal & Co-Founder
Head, Policy & Government Affairs Practice
Anne Clawson (she/her) leads the policy practice at Cascade Advisory. A versatile and dynamic professional with a deep understanding of climate and natural resources policy, her experience spans corporate, trade association, and management consulting roles. With nearly two decades of experience, Anne has developed and executed comprehensive advocacy strategies to address a variety of manufacturing, climate, and natural resources policy issues. She played a pivotal role in achieving exemptions from tariffs and visa bans and secured millions in federal funding for prior organizations.
Anne is fluent in German and proficient in French. She holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MA from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Senior Advisors
Jenna Edwards
Jenna Edwards (she/her) is an advisor for Cascade Advisory with extensive experience in strategy, planning, operations, and organizational development. An expert in aerospace and defense, she was Director of the Propulsion & Test Department at Astrobotic Technology and served as Chief Operating Officer at Masten Space Systems while leading the company through bankruptcy and acquisition.
Jenna has leveraged her expertise to provide valuable guidance to companies, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations, assisting them in areas such as strategic planning, operations, government affairs, marketing, and business development. In previous management consulting and economic development roles, she led industry cluster development and startup ecosystems, facilitated executive roundtables, hosted diplomatic delegations, conducted industry research, and supported site selection and consulting projects for everyone from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
Jenna holds a BA from Samford University and an MA from Georgetown University.
Dr. Laura Mahrenbach
Dr. Laura Mahrenbach (she/her) is an expert in the politics of digital technologies and global economic governance, currently working as an adjunct professor at the School of Social Sciences and Technology at the Technical University of Munich. Laura has unique expertise relevant to AI implementation for businesses, including how to navigate governance frameworks and how to assess the benefits and costs of AI use. Her research explores how global power shifts interact with artificial intelligence and big data as well as how to use these technologies to address societal and governance challenges.
Over the past twenty years, Laura has developed a truly global perspective, researching, teaching and engaging in policy discussions in 16 countries on 5 continents. She thrives in cross-functional environments, using her programming and data analytics training and social science expertise to communicate across industries and organizations.
Laura holds the Venia Legendi in Political Science from the Technical University of Munich, a PhD (summa cum laude) from the Ruhr-University Bochum, an MA from Florida State University and a BA from Louisiana State University.
Timur Tusiray
Timur Tusiray (he/him) is a senior legal professional with a passion to develop strategies to help companies leverage technology to grow. He brings a decade of experience navigating complex and novel regulatory frameworks to protect individuals and institutions, accelerate growth, and deliver best in class services and products that delight users.
In his legal practice, he is known for his leading work on emerging issues around AI adoption and business use. He has advised on the adoption and go-to-market of highly regulated products in the fintech, insurtech and background screening industries, including extensive guidance on privacy standards. He has also represented clients against federal and state regulatory bodies.
He holds a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a JD from the University of Southern California.
