Our Team

Our TeamLisa K.2026-09-14T09:38:56-05:00

The Longbow team consists of attorneys, lobbyists, strategists, communicators, and media relations professionals. When you work with us you hire the entire firm, not just one individual. This method brings our collective experience and knowledge to the table, allowing us to provide effective solutions from customized services to strategic campaigns.

We put the full resources of the firm to work for your benefit.

We’d be happy to answer any questions you have about our experience working with the Texas legislature.
Feel free to call (512) 320-9933 or contact us directly.

David Parker

Meet David

Robert Peeler

Meet Robert

Ben Stratmann

Meet Ben

Bailey Abrams

Meet Bailey

Mercedes Bolen

Meet Mercedes

Lacey Pumphrey

Meet Lacey

“Teamwork is the secret that makes common people achieve uncommon results.”

~ Ifeanyi Onuoha

Mercedes Bolen

O: (817) 888-4309
E: mercedes@longbowpartners.com

PRACTICE AREAS:

Municipal and County Affairs
Corporate Community Strategy, Leadership Engagement
Reputation Management and Positioning
Land Use and Zoning Advisory Services
Philanthropic and Sponsorship Positioning

Mercedes Bolen is a senior external affairs and public strategy advisor with more than 20 years of experience strengthening brand reputation, building alignment between organizations and local leaders, and guiding entities through complex regulatory, political, and community environments across Texas. She counsels organizational leaders and public officials at the intersection of policy, development, reputation, and regional growth—aligning business objectives with local priorities to deliver outcomes that benefit both communities and the entities that serve them.

Experience

Before joining Longbow Partners to lead local government affairs & public strategy, Mercedes spent 13 years as Vice President of External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives at Hillwood Development Company, where she led outreach and strategic projects across AllianceTexas and the broader North Texas region. Earlier in her career at Chesapeake Energy, she directed municipal and community affairs throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, translating technical issues into clear narratives, engaging elected officials and city staff, and supporting zoning and land use solutions that balanced operational needs with community interests.

Professional Affiliations

Her portfolio spans corporate strategy, reputation management and positioning, municipal affairs, land use and zoning advisory services, and philanthropic and sponsorship strategy. A 2019 graduate of Leadership North Texas, and Leadership Fort Worth alumni, Mercedes is an active community volunteer and has held leadership roles with organizations including Tarrant Area Food Bank, Tarrant To & Through (T3), and the North Central Texas Workforce Development Board. She holds both a B.A. and an MBA from East Carolina University and lives in North Texas with her husband and two children.

David Parker

Fort Worth: (817) 564-8054
Austin: (512) 320-9933
E: david@longbowpartners.com

PRACTICE AREAS:

Regulatory & Legislative Advocacy
Corporate Strategy
Public Relations
Business Development
Local Municipal Affairs
Procurement

David Parker serves in a unique hybrid role as a veteran Partner who splits time between the firm’s Austin headquarters office and Dallas-Fort Worth where he serves as Managing Director of the firm’s North Texas office. His professional career landed him in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Austin, and Fort Worth with a variety of rural and urban responsibilities, enabling him to build a strategic network for delivering creative state and local solutions throughout Texas.

Experience

Prior to joining Longbow, David served as Vice President of Legislative and Public Affairs for AT&T where he worked for 15 years as a graduate of the company’s Leadership Development Program. He advocated on behalf of the Fortune 10 corporation and its subsidiaries on policy issues such as taxation, utility regulation, real estate, licensing, insurance, economic incentives, consumer protections, and environmental matters.

David has led successful efforts on behalf of global clients, industry trade associations, and passionate individuals to craft and help pass some of Texas’ most progressive and disruptive policies. In addition to passing state legislation and local ordinances to help advance policy at both levels, he has secured critical sales tax policy interpretations from the Texas Comptroller’s office; assisted out-of-state clients with licensing before Texas commissions; guided clients from public crisis to reputational success, and landed procurement deals to implement business development opportunities at various levels of government.

Professional Affiliations

David is a 2014 graduate of Leadership North Texas, was named to the National Review Institute’s inaugural Texas class of Fellows, was named to the Fort Worth Business Press’ “40 Under 40” list and has served as a university adjunct professor of both micro- and macroeconomics. He previously chaired the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce’s Governmental Affairs Committee and currently serves as a Director and Officer for the Texas Lyceum. He has also served in leadership or chairman roles for numerous civic boards including the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Tarrant County College Foundation, Texas Wesleyan University, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Texas Health Resources.

David holds a master’s degree in applied economics from SMU and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Texas A&M University where he was selected to serve as a Ross Volunteer in the Corps of Cadets.

He and his wife Mattie met working in and around the Capitol in Austin. Today they have three children and reside in the heart of Fort Worth where they are active civic leaders, parents and volunteers.

Robert Peeler

T: (512) 320-9933
E: robert@longbowpartners.com

PRACTICE AREAS:

Strategic Consulting
Legislative & Regulatory Advocacy
Public Private Partnerships
Procurement

Robert Peeler is the founder of Longbow Partners and serves as Managing Partner. A licensed attorney and respected facilitator, Peeler brings deep experience and an established network of contacts built over two decades of combined experience in all three branches of Texas government and the private sector. In addition to his day-to-day firm management duties, Peeler is responsible for leading business development as well as direct advocacy and counseling of Longbow’s clients. Peeler has significant experience in appropriations, health care, natural resources, regulated industries, taxation, telecommunications, transportation, and utility-related matters. In addition, Peeler routinely communicates and advocates on behalf of Longbow’s clients within state regulatory agencies and boards on a broad range of policy and procurement matters.

Experience

Peeler was a sole practitioner for three years beginning in January 2007. Peeler was Of Counsel to Kemp Smith, LLP from December 2008 until the 2010 founding of Longbow Partners and was then Of Counsel with Cox Smith Matthews Inc. from 2010 until the beginning of 2016. Prior to departing the public sector at the beginning of 2007 to launch his own practice, he served as Chief of Staff and General Counsel for a Houston-Galveston area state senator. Peeler held the Chief of Staff title for more than six years (three legislative sessions) after being promoted into that role following the 1999 regular session. While concurrently attending law school and working in the Texas Senate, Peeler also interned for the Court of Criminal Appeals followed by a clerkship in the General Counsel’s Office of the Texas Secretary of State.

Before moving over to work in the Texas Senate in January 1999, Peeler held a staff position with a north Texas state representative for more than two years. Prior to his time as a House staffer, Peeler worked as an intern in various divisions within the Office of the Governor during his final undergraduate semester of college.

A Dallas native and dual graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Peeler holds a BA in English earned while on four-year football scholarship, as well as a JD from the University of Texas School of Law. He is married, has three children, and resides in Austin.

Lacey Pumphrey, CPA

T: (512) 320-9933
E: lacey@longbowpartners.com

As the Controller for Longbow Partners, Lacey handles all matters financial. She is bubbly and outgoing, yet detail-oriented with a sharp focus on accuracy and timeliness. Her professional career began in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers auditing the oil and gas giants in Oklahoma City. She moved her career into industry and to Austin when she accepted the Senior Accountant role for Offers.com. She quickly fell in love with the internal side of accounting with the opportunity to impact operations as well as the financial bottom line of her clients. In 2013, Lacey joined Longbow Partners as their Controller. In this capacity, she prides herself on providing exceptional client service with friendly and timely communication.

Professional Affiliations

Certified Public Accountant in Texas & Oklahoma
Texas Society of CPAs

Civic & Community Involvement

Lacey earned a Master’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business. She completed her bachelor’s in business administration in just three years majoring in accounting with a minor in finance. Lacey is an alumnae member of the Delta Gamma sorority whose philanthropic focus is Service for Sight.

Ben Stratmann

M: (512) 635-1831
E: ben@longbowpartners.com

PRACTICE AREAS

Regulatory & Legislative Advocacy
Corporate Strategy
Public Relations
Business Development
Local Municipal Affairs

Ben Stratmann brings to his role as an equity partner more than two decades of experience navigating public policy in and around the Texas Capitol. Adept at advising clients on complex policy and political matters, he has a proven track record of bringing together diverse stakeholders and advancing major initiatives through the legislative process. His successes for clients span topics including emerging technologies and economic development, energy and natural resources, higher education, healthcare and state appropriations, and the alcoholic beverage industry.

Experience

Before joining Longbow Partners in 2018, Ben spent more than a decade working in the legislature, the majority of that time serving as Chief of Staff to Senator Brian Birdwell, where he managed more than 30 staff across Capitol, district and committee offices. He previously served as Birdwell’s communications director and policy advisor, and later as campaign manager for two successful re-election efforts. From 2006 to 2010, Ben held roles in the offices of Governor Rick Perry, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, and as Special Assistant to Lt. Governor David Dewhurst.

Background & Affiliations

A fifth-generation Texan and Austin native, Ben is deeply involved in his community. He has served as the elected or appointed chairman of the Blood Cancer United Board of Trustees, the Austin City Council Ethics Review Commission, the Young Men’s Business League (c. 1913), and the Austin Sunshine Camps. Ben is also an alumnus of the American Council of Young Political Leaders, where he was given the opportunity to represent the United States as a member and leader, respectively, of U.S. State Department delegations to Morocco and Tunisia (2016) and later Cambodia and Malaysia (2019).

Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Communications from Texas State University. He and his wife, Amy, have one daughter and live in central Austin.

Bailey Abrams

O: (512) 320-9933
E: bailey@longbowpartners.com

Bailey Abrams serves as Director of Operations at Longbow Partners, where she oversees the firm’s day-to-day functions, client coordination, and internal execution across a variety of firm engagements. She brings a background in operations, account management, and business development, with experience supporting high-growth organizations and managing complex client needs.

Experience

Prior to joining Longbow, Bailey held multiple roles at WeWork, where she managed a diverse portfolio of companies and partnered with leadership teams to support operational and strategic objectives. She has also held operations-focused roles with responsibility for team oversight, vendor coordination, and business expansion initiatives. Bailey is recognized for her organization, responsiveness, and attention to detail, and is a trusted point of contact for all Longbow clients and colleagues. She is known for anticipating needs, managing competing priorities, and ensuring work is executed efficiently and professionally.

Bailey is based in Austin and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of the Elizabeth Ann Seton Board. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons.

Lauren Spreen

O: (512) 320-9933
E: lauren@longbowpartners.com

Lauren Hamner Spreen is a public affairs consultant with nearly two decades of experience navigating Texas regulatory and legislative affairs.

Experience

Originally from Louisiana, Spreen moved to Texas in 2006 and began her career in Houston raising funds for local and statewide political candidates. She later served as a policy director for members of both the Texas Senate during the 2009 legislative session and the Texas House of Representatives during the 2011 session.

Following her time at the Capitol, Spreen managed the first statewide campaign for Christi Craddick, who was elected Railroad Commissioner in 2012. After the campaign, Spreen joined the Railroad Commission of Texas as Craddick’s Director of Public Affairs, serving throughout Craddick’s first term. During her tenure at the agency, Spreen played a key role in the passage of the Commission’s Sunset Review legislation, helped secure historic funding increases for the agency’s budget, managed regulatory efficiency initiatives and rulemakings alongside agency staff and stakeholders, and led public affairs and regulatory response efforts during major events affecting both the Commission and Texas’s oil and gas industry.

Following Craddick’s 2018 reelection, Spreen founded her own Austin-based consulting firm. Today, she advises companies across the oil and gas value chain on complex matters involving Texas state agencies and the Legislature. Known for her deep understanding of Texas government and her strategic judgment, Spreen has built a reputation as an effective advocate and trusted advisor on unique legislative, regulatory, and public affairs challenges. Her experience working inside both the Texas Legislature and the Railroad Commission of Texas gives her a practical understanding of how policy decisions are made and implemented, allowing her to help clients navigate high-stakes issues with credibility and precision. Spreen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. She currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory and on the Legal and Regulatory Affairs Committee for the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. She lives in Austin with her husband, Payton, and their son, Henry.