Bolton-St. Johns Kicks-off 2024 With Promotion of Keyla Antigua, Justin Berhaupt, Joseph DeRosa, Debra Feinberg, Bill McCarthy Jr, and John McCarthy to Partner
-Rising Stars Among the Firm’s Leadership-
NEW YORK, NY- The partners of Bolton-St. Johns (BSJ), one of the top three New York lobbying firms, announce the promotion of Keyla Antigua, Justin Berhaupt, Joseph DeRosa, Debra Feinberg, Bill McCarthy Jr, and John McCarthy to Partners. All have been a dynamic and committed part of the BSJ team and continue to be rising stars among the firm’s leadership.
Keyla Antigua
Keyla Antigua is a partner at Bolton-St. Johns. For more than five years, Keyla has been the leader of lobbying campaigns a in the areas of City and State legislation, regulation, procurement and budget matters with labor unions, iconic institutions, Fortune 100 companies, vital nonprofits, minority and women-owned businesses, and technology firms. She has worked on behalf of clients on economic development projects as well as the areas of criminal justice reform, health care benefits, transportation, arts and cultural, technology, telecommunications and environmental reform.
As a team leader, She manages a practice group of professionals across a range of projects and public policy priorities on behalf of more than thirty clients. She serves as a government and community relations lead throughout New York & New Jersey on behalf of numerous organizations. Keyla started her career in advocacy serving as the Assistant Director of Public Policy at Children’s Aid, one of New York City’s largest and oldest nonprofit giving her decade of experience in the grassroots advocacy, government relations and public policy fields. Additionally, Keyla has a robust achievement record of leading coalition work throughout the city and state.
Justin Berhaupt
Justin is a partner at Bolton-St. Johns with over two decades of public policy experience, beginning in 2001 with the New York State Assembly, working in the office of Communication Information Services, providing legislative and communication assistance to newly elected Assembly members. Years later, when the Democrats gained the majority in the State Senate in 2009, Justin served as legislative director and counsel to then Senator Schneiderman. Justin left state service at the end of 2014 after overseeing the legislative portfolio of the 65th Attorney General of the State of New York.
Over the past five years at Bolton-St. Johns, Justin assisted numerous clients in the navigating the everchanging political landscape of Albany, securing significant funding for capital projects as well as amending and repealing harmful regulations and laws that impede the economic well-being of some of New York’s largest industries.
Joseph DeRosa
Joseph DeRosa joined BSJ in December 2014 as a member of the Albany-based lobbying team and has over fifteen years of experience implementing and shaping clean energy policy in New York State. He works diligently to advance the business priorities of market-leading clients before key decision makers in the Executive Chamber, NYS Legislature, state agencies, and local governments, focusing primarily in the areas of clean energy, cannabis, transportation, technology and procurement.
Joseph leads the energy practice at BSJ and has won major legislative, procurement and budget victories. In June 2016, he was recognized by City & State Magazine as an “Albany 40 Under 40 Rising Star” and has since been featured on their 100 Most Responsible New Yorkers List in 2022, and the Energy & Environment Power 100 List from 2019 – 2023.
Prior to joining the firm, Joseph served over six years as lead project manager for residential financing at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), focusing on market transformation initiatives in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. While at NYSERDA, he was responsible for the development, management and reporting functions associated with several financing products spanning the residential, multifamily and small business/not-for-profit sectors, including the Green Jobs-Green New York loan portfolio valued at over $70 million, and the Residential Loan Fund, valued at over $100 million.
Debra Feinberg
Debra is a partner at Bolton-St. Johns and brings her extensive experience both from within government and the private sector, with a focus on housing issues, transportation, media, economic development and navigating New York city and state government. Prior to joining Bolton-St. Johns, Debra was Director of Operations at Steiner Studios, the largest film studio outside of Hollywood, whose dual role also included working in Steiner’s real estate development team on government affairs and strategic initiatives. During her time there, Steiner built one of the largest residential rental towers in Brooklyn, developed New York City’s first Wegmans in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and was selected by NYCEDC and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment to build the film and television production hub for the city’s Made in New York campus in Sunset Park. Debra began her career as a media and real estate attorney before working on the 2008 Obama presidential campaign in Michigan. Returning to New York City, Debra served as chief of staff for the Chair of the Assembly Housing Committee. In this role, Debra drafted and negotiated pivotal legislation centered on housing and economic development, navigating key stakeholders throughout the state. Concurrently, Debra ran a number of democratic campaigns, including successfully spearheading the campaign for a hotly contested City Council seat in 2009.
Bill McCarthy, Jr
Bill joined Bolton-St. Johns in 2018 as Senior Vice President after working as Assistant General Counsel at The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) – one of the largest thoroughbred horse racing organizations in the U.S. and the cornerstone of New York State’s horse racing industry. At NYRA, Bill managed relationships with legislators, the New York State Gaming Commission, and other regulators, as well as representatives of the executive branch of the New York State government in addressing issues of interest to NYRA. Bill assisted in the re-privatization of NYRA after a multi-year effort to ensure horse racing in New York is efficiently managed, accountable, and transparent. Previously, Bill worked in the New York State Senate as Counsel and Policy Advisor. Bill also previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Attorney General’s Office where he represented the State of New York, its agencies, and its officers in both state and federal courts defending claims of violations of constitutional rights and other litigated matters arising out of state operations and legislation.
John McCarthy
Since 2010, John has successfully guided Bolton-St. Johns clients, including Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit organizations and trade associations, through the legislative and regulatory processes. Prior to joining the firm, John was an Associate at Nixon Peabody, LLP, practicing in the Private Equity and Leveraged Buyouts group in New York City. John represented clients in the execution of various strategies such as divestitures, public offerings, and recapitalizations. He advised private equity and venture capital funds and their respective portfolio companies in relation to their day-to-day operations, including a host of employment and labor issues. Prior to his employment at Nixon Peabody, LLP, John worked for the New York State Governor’s Office researching and analyzing legal issues and the implementation of legislative policy. John also worked at the New York State Governors Office of Regional Affairs coordinating legislative efforts throughout the State.
To learn more about Bolton-St. Johns’ repertoire of services and our premier team of colleagues, please visit: www.boltonstjohns.com
