FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Longtime Lobbyists and Dean Emeritus Calvin Smyre Launch Dogwood Public Affairs - a New Government Relations Firm Working Under the Gold Dome
ATLANTA, GA – October 6, 2025 - Career public policy professionals Dan Baskerville, Elmer Stancil, and Robert Sills announce the launch of Dogwood Public Affairs, a new full-service public affairs and government relations firm representing corporate and not-for-profit client interests at the Georgia General Assembly and elsewhere within state and local government. They are joined by Senior Advisor, Honorable Calvin Smyre, Dean Emeritus of the Georgia House of Representatives.
Dogwood Public Affairs provides strategic counsel and advocacy services to clients navigating novel and complex issues before state and local governmental entities, and specializes in government relations, strategic communications, economic development, and complex intergovernmental negotiations.
“I am honored and excited to join Dogwood Public Affairs. This new venture gives me the opportunity to construct and expand partnerships with a talented team of professionals who I have known and engaged with through public policy for many years. I know we can make a meaningful difference and carefully direct clients and deliver innovative solutions across private, government, corporate and nonprofit sectors,” stated Senior Advisor Calvin Smyre.
“The Dogwood Public Affairs team prioritizes a commitment to ethical practice in every interaction, ensuring that our clients' voices are heard with credibility and trust. Our team is composed of highly respected and experienced professionals with deep expertise and strong, bipartisan relationships across all levels of government,” said founding partner Elmer Stancil.
Dan Baskerville is a founding partner at Dogwood Public Affairs and comes to Dogwood directly from Dentons US LLP (formerly McKenna Long & Aldridge) where he specialized in state and local government affairs for over 20 years. Dan has extensive experience representing a wide variety of clients before the Georgia General Assembly and state agencies, including in the economic development, education, healthcare, financial, and transportation sectors. He is a graduate of Binghamton University and USC Price School of Public Policy.
With over twenty years working in public policy, Elmer Stancil is a founding partner at Dogwood Public Affairs. Elmer has a proven track record of assisting clients by developing advocacy strategy as well as legislative execution at the federal, state, and local levels. Elmer began his career at the State of Georgia where he spent over a decade working to craft policy to attract and grow jobs and investment in Georgia. After moving to private practice, Elmer has worked at all levels of government serving clients in healthcare, hospitality, procurement, tax policy, transportation, and regulation. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia.
An attorney with 15 years of experience, Robert Sills is a founding partner at Dogwood Public Affairs and has served as Policy Director and Counsel to the Georgia House Minority Caucus, a Public Policy attorney with Dentons US LLP where he represented both Fortune 500 clients and state-based non-profits, and in-house counsel at Amazon.com, Inc. Prior to founding Dogwood Public Affairs, he most recently served as national director of state and local government affairs for a large national non-profit organization. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Emory University School of Law.
Honorable Calvin Smyre of Columbus, Georgia is a Senior Advisor at Dogwood Public Affairs. He is a former Executive Vice President of Synovus Bank and Dean Emeritus of the Georgia House of Representatives, having served in the Georgia General Assembly for 48 years. During his tenure of service, Dean Smyre served as a Governor’s Floor Leader, Rules Committee Chairman, University System of Georgia Committee Chairman and Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He has served as a Delegate to every Democratic National Convention since 1980 and is nationally renowned and respected for his commitment to bipartisan collaboration on Georgia’s most pressing issues. He is President Emeritus of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, based in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of Fort Valley State University and holds Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters Degree from Morehouse School of Medicine and Columbus State University.
Dogwood Public Affairs is based in Atlanta, Georgia and serves clients across the state and nationally. For more information, visit www.dogwoodpublicaffairs.com or contact info@dogwoodpublicaffairs.com.
Contact:
Robert Sills, Partner, Dogwood Public Affairs.
P: 404.919.1810
E: rsills@dogwoodpublicaffairs.com