Crystal Ellerbe is a senior vice president for federal relations in the Strategies 360 Washington, D.C. office. Crystal has nearly two decades of experience in government relations, on both Capitol Hill and in the private sector. She helps Strategies 360’s clients achieve their goals by successfully navigating Congress and federal agencies, working on issues such as federal grants and funding, transportation, housing, education, manufacturing, disaster recovery, and others.

Prior to joining Strategies 360, Crystal was most recently a government relations consultant, focused on securing grant programs for clients. From 2012-2016, she was based in New Orleans as the director of federal affairs for the University of New Orleans, where she developed the university’s federal priorities and helped secure a major grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Crystal also spent nearly five years as director of government relations for commercial vehicle manufacturer Navistar, during which time she was based in Chicago. At Navistar, she helped the company secure a $37 million truck efficiency research grant while also managing Navistar’s political action committee (PAC).

Her experience on the hill includes work as a legislative aide/assistant to former Senators Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and David Vitter (R-LA). In addition, Crystal has been a registered lobbyist at several other DC-based government affairs firms.

A native of the D.C. area, Crystal has a B.A. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland and graduate level certification in Congressional studies from the Legislative Studies Institute. In her free time, Crystal enjoys baking and reading science fiction and Civil War history.