The Advocacy Shop is experienced in meeting the unique and specific needs of organizations working to advance public policy goals. We help our clients navigate the complicated dynamics between issues, stakeholders, politics, funders, and coalitions. Having worked together on advocacy campaigns and coalition management for nearly a decade, Laurie Onorio and Kate White’s partnership led to the founding of The Advocacy Shop. Our experiences in the public sector cover the full range of challenges and opportunities that organizations face.
FOUNDER AND CEO Having worked in varying capacities in issue advocacy, political campaigns, public policy, and the private sector, Laurie Onorio appreciates the varied perspectives and experience developed over her 15+ year career. Her unique perspectives ensure consideration of political realities for decision-makers in their districts, on the campaign trail, and inside the legislative building, as well as the realities for stakeholders working to make public policy change in short- and long-term timeframes increasingly with dynamic coalitions and careful alignment needed.
The Advocacy Shop is a continuation of the government and public affairs practice Laurie started in 2014. In 2016, she merged with then O3 Strategies to form Walk West, a digital marketing and strategic communications agency. As a partner and Vice President of Strategic Communications, she led the public relations, video production, government and public affairs practices. In that role, Laurie built and scaled a multi-million dollar practice that combined sophisticated marketing, communications, and digital capabilities to her already robust traditional advocacy, grasstops, and campaigns tactics. During that time, Walk West was named an Inc. 5,000 Fastest Growing Company three years in a row. In 2020, Laurie re-launched The Advocacy Shop to provide boutique consulting and campaign capabilities to clients with issue and mission-led advocacy goals. Laurie previously served for six years as Vice President of The Stewart Group, Inc., a political consulting, public affairs, and corporate public relations firm in Raleigh.
She is a graduate of North Carolina State University with a degree in English: Language, Writing, and Rhetoric and is a member of the American Association of Political Consultants, the North Carolina Professional Lobbyists Association, and is a fellow of the E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders and the Institute of Political Leadership.
VICE PRESIDENT Kate White brings over a decade of experience working in public policy and advocacy to our team. She has worked to advance public policy initiatives from within both the public and private sector and understands the need to balance competing priorities in order to move an issue forward.
As a Senior Program Associate at the Energy Foundation, she helped establish a regional office and portfolio of grants to meet the foundation’s climate and clean energy goals in the Southeast US. In this capacity, Kate worked directly with funders, advocates, and stakeholders to develop and execute policy and campaign goals across twelve states. In 2018, she joined Walk West as an Account Director to lead the agency’s government and public affairs clients in the Strategic Communications practice. In this position, she worked with nonprofits, associations, and for-profit clients to achieve their policy and communications goals across a wide variety of issue sets, including clean energy, healthcare, technology, and education. From national influencer campaigns to statewide legislative initiatives, she developed and executed successful strategies to educate, empower, and engage the public on important issues such as clean water, flu vaccinations, insurance reform, and child abuse.
A proud member of the Wolfpack, Kate is a two-time graduate of North Carolina State University, with an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a Master in Public Administration. She also holds a Certificate in Renewable Energy Management from the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center.