Paul Gay

Role: Speaker

Paul Gay is a veteran government affairs and federal marketing specialist with SMI, a DC based lobbying firm, where he focuses on development, demonstration, and deployment of advanced clean energy technologies. Paul utilizes his 30+ years of experience in Washington, including fourteen serving as a senior policy adviser in the U.S. Congress, to help his clients shape and secure federal funding support. Paul is also a co-founder and former co-chair of NHA’s Marine Energy Council. In that role, he helped lead the ten-year lobbying effort that culminated in passage of the Water Power Research and Development Act of 2020. That legislation authorized $137 million per year for DOE marine energy activities from Fiscal Years 2021 through 2025. Paul also continues to focus on annual water power funding. Prior to joining SMI in 2008, Paul held several staff positions with three Members of Congress, focusing on appropriations, energy, and infrastructure.