Chirag Shah is now the senior vice president of federal affairs for the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Previously he was AAHOA’s vice president of government affairs and counsel.
In the newly created position for AHLA, Shah will develop and execute the association’s advocacy strategy on Capitol Hill and with the new Biden Administration. That includes issues such as implementation the newly passed American Rescue Plan Act and other federal stimulus programs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to joining AAHOA, Chirag was a deputy director and legal advisor for the Republican National Committee, campaign manager for Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and he held multiple positions for U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina.
“Chirag is well-known and widely respected by both Democrats and Republicans and on both sides of the Capitol, having worked on advocacy issues for the hotel industry for nearly a decade,” said Brian Crawford, executive vice president of government affairs at AHLA. “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve worked together to ensure our industry has access to increased liquidity and debt forbearance for the hotel sector, that employees have jobs to return to once travel demand returns and businesses are protected from undue liability concerns. I know he’ll hit the ground running.”
Also, Laisha Dismuke jointed AHLA as vice president of human resources and Sharon Sykes joined as director of state and local government affairs, covering the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions.
