Staff Biographies

Paul Weinberger

Assistant Vice President Federal Relations

As Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations, Paul oversees the University of Illinois System’s relationships with, and advocacy relating to, Congress and the executive branch. Paul joined the University of Illinois System in 2017, after two decades on Capitol Hill and at federal agencies. Most recently, Paul served as Vice President of Congressional and Public Affairs for the U.S. government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), overseeing the agency’s communications, legislative and outreach team and strategies. Before joining MCC, he was Director of Congressional Relations for the Peace Corps. Paul also served as Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, as Counsel for the House Committee on Government Reform, and as a staffer for U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd. Paul is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.

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Melissa Haas

Director Federal Relations

A native of Illinois and a proud alumna of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Melissa Haas joined the federal relations team in May 2013 from the congressional staff of U.S. Representative Peter Roskam, former Chief Deputy Whip. Melissa interned for Rep. Roskam during college, then after graduation, served as the front office ambassador, supervised the internship program, managed the congressman's large constituent mail operation, and ultimately advised Rep. Roskam on a variety of legislative issues important to the U of I, including higher education, agriculture, and immigration.

Melissa first joined the University of Illinois System’s federal team as a federal relations specialist, and has since served as an assistant director of federal relations, acting director of federal relations, and now in her current post as associate director of federal relations. Melissa spent her first three years working out of OGR's D.C. office, and has been based out of OGR's office in Chicago since spring 2016. She is a part-time student at the University of Illinois Springfield working on a Master of Public Administration.

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