Amy Ford Souders, Arts ’92, was elected to the Marquette University Board of Trustees in 2020.

She is a principal, director and founding member of Cornerstone Government Affairs, a full-service, bipartisan consulting firm specializing in federal and state government relations, public affairs and strategic communications, and advisory services. Cornerstone began in 2002 as a firm of 10 professionals with 11 clients and has grown to become one of the industry’s leading government relations affairs firms with over 180 professionals throughout 15 offices across the country.

Since the firm’s founding, Amy has co-led the health practice, one of the largest practice areas at the firm, which represents a broad and diverse base of clients that includes hospitals and health care delivery providers, public health organizations, universities, coalitions, manufacturing and information technology companies, philanthropic organizations and patient advocacy groups, and medical and professional health associations. In this role, Amy has helped shape public health policy for over 20 years.

Amy represents a range of client interests and is the co-principal investigator for a grant focused on public health prevention, which is supported by the nation’s largest philanthropic organization dedicated to health. In addition, she is the executive director of the 317 Coalition, an organization dedicated to improving immunization rates across the country.

Prior to Cornerstone, she spent several years at two well-respected lobbying firms in Washington, D.C., as well as serving as deputy treasurer for a successful U.S. Senate campaign.

Amy is a graduate of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences. She is a long-standing member of The Les Aspin Center for Government Board of Visitors, as well as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, a past president of the Illinois Group and past board member of the Illinois State Society.

She met her husband, Patrick, a fellow resident assistant, at Marquette, and they have a daughter, Elle. Amy is a member of the Marquette University President’s Society.