Who We Are

John has a keen understanding of the sensitivities and the strategies needed to promote your interests in Nebraska.

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Prior to becoming a lobbyist, John served as a Nebraska state senator for two terms representing Omaha’s 9th legislative district.  While there, his colleagues chose him to chair the Judiciary Committee, and before that he was Vice-Chair of the Executive Board.​ He joined O'Hara Lindsay in 1997 and became president in 2008 when founder Paul O'Hara retired.

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John was born and raised in Omaha, where he attended Creighton Preparatory School, Creighton University, and Creighton University College of Law. He practiced law in Omaha for 13 years, starting out with his father and older brother.  John clerked for the Honorable John Grant at the Nebraska Supreme Court for a year after law school.​

Former State Senator Burke Harr served in the Legislature from 2010-2018. During those two terms, Burke was practicing law in Omaha with Houghton Bradford Whitted. Since leaving the Legislature in 2018, Burke, a graduate of St. Thomas University and Notre Dame School of Law, has continued practicing law while expanding into legislative lobbying and public policy making.

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While serving in the Legislature, Burke served as chairman of the Business and Labor Committee and served on the Agriculture; Banking, Commerce, and Insurance; General Affairs; Judiciary; and Revenue committees. He is a former prosecutor in Douglas County. We are very pleased to welcome Burke.​

Blair MacDonald joined the firm in 2015 as the director of client relations and was promoted to lobbyist following the 2018 legislative session. Since then, she has taken on some of our largest clients and excelled at coalition-building, with major successes both passing bills and defending against proposed legislation. Her command of complex issues, legislative history, procedural matters, and stakeholders is formidable.

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Prior to joining, Blair worked on several political campaigns, as well as working as the campaign coordinator for a nonprofit’s successful capital campaign. Raised in Fremont, Nebraska, Blair is a graduate of Brownell-Talbot College Preparatory School and Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. ​Blair’s campaign background and development experience has been a great complement to O’Hara Lindsay’s strategic work and clientele.

Joey has nearly 15 years of experience in Nebraska politics, working in both campaign management for candidates at the state and federal level, as well as his time as a legislative staff member for State Senators Ken Haar and Matt Hansen.

 

Joey has spent the last seven years serving as a policy director and lobbyist, first at the Holland Children’s Movement and more recently at OpenSky Policy Institute. With deep roots in the Omaha area, Joey is proud to continue his commitment to Nebraska in this new venture.

Don was attending graduate school at UNL when he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 1978, at the age of 24. Don introduced or co-introduced more than 300 legislative bills successfully enacted into law during his 20 years of service. Don served as Chairman of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee for fourteen years. He also chaired the Rules; Retirement; and Economic Development Committees and served on Banking, Commerce & Insurance; Transportation; Public Works; and Business & Labor Committees. Don also held many leadership positions in the National Conference of State Legislatures.

 

Wesely was elected Mayor of the City of Lincoln in 1999. He joined the firm in 2008.

Hannah is responsible for supervising office, HR, payroll, and accounting matters, and oversees our internship program. She handles contract administration, legislative tracking, and Accountability & Disclosure compliance. As Director of Client Relations, Hannah provides logistics and support for clients in and out of the office, and coordinates legislative receptions, fundraisers, and outreach for clients and Senators.

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Prior to joining O’Hara Lindsay, Hannah, a graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University and University of Nebraska College of Law, worked at a nonprofit providing work incentives counseling to individuals on Social Security disability benefits. Additionally, she spent several years in private law practice and is an active member of the Nebraska State Bar Association.