Arlington, Va. — The Aerospace Industries Association has appointed Timothy McClees as Vice President for Legislative Affairs, responsible for leading the Association’s legislative policy and advocacy work with members of Congress and their staff. He brings to this role more than three decades of experience in defense and governmental operations and will report to AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning.
 
“As an organization that advocates on behalf of more than 340 members in the aerospace and defense sector, one of the most valuable things we do is engage with legislators,” said Fanning. “Tim’s deep experience and strong relationships in our space make him the right person, at the right time, for this role. I’m thrilled he’s bringing his considerable talents to AIA to help us take our advocacy efforts to the next level.” 
 
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to join the dedicated men and women at AIA,” said McClees. “As new technologies open doors in the aerospace and defense industry, it’s essential that we collaborate with government more closely than ever if we want to deliver on the promise of these innovations. I look forward to facilitating that collaboration on behalf of our member companies.”
 
McClees most recently served at Peraton, LLC, a Virginia-based defense firm. There, he was responsible for managing U.S. Air Force intelligence and data storage and dissemination programs, with a collective value of over $50 million. Prior to Peraton, McClees was the Chief of Staff at Laurel Strategies, Inc., advising the Chief Executive Officer and overseeing the execution of long-term and crisis communications strategies for some of the most prominent leaders in the country and globally.
 
Previously, McClees served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). He also served as the Deputy Staff Director (Minority) for the House Armed Services Committee, where he acted as principal advisor to Committee Chair Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) on issues involving defense research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E), space, intelligence, information technology, homeland security, irregular warfare, special operations, and small business concerns. In this role, McClees aided in the annual passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, and was instrumental in the passage of the 2013 NDAA, spearheading the effort to restore to the President the authority to transfer satellites and related items to the Commerce Control List.
 
Before his career in civilian defense, McClees served for 10 years in the U.S. Army as an intelligence analyst supporting tactical and national signals exploitation systems.