The Conafay Group
Darin Gardner has extensive experience in government affairs, having worked with various companies, as well as in Congress and the Senate. Darin started their career as a Research Assistant at The United States Senate in 2000, and subsequently worked as Legislative Director for Congresswoman Kay Granger before joining Genentech in 2005 as Senior Director for Federal Government Affairs. In 2014, they joined Jochum Shore & Trossevin PC as Partner until 2019. Gardner briefly served as Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Kay Granger before joining The Conafay Group as Vice President in 2020, where they currently work.
Darin Gardner attended Ouachita Baptist University from 1990 to 1992 where they studied political science and government. Darin then transferred to Henderson State University from 1992 to 1995 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. During their time at Henderson State University, they also studied Chinese Language and Literature at Yantai University for a semester in 1992. In 1994, Darin obtained a Private Pilot certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.
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The Conafay Group
The Conafay Group works with life science companies and organizations to develop and implement government funding and public policy strategies. We also bridge ties to philanthropic, non-‐profit, academic and commercial entities to enhance client outcomes. Working on behalf of our clients, we create and execute dynamic strategies that facilitate: • Non-Dilutive Funding • Health Policy Advocacy • Ally Development • Federal Government Relations • Public-Private Partnerships • Federal Marketing • Coalition Management • Business-to-Business Partnering TCG specializes in representing biomedical technologies and therapeutics before the federal government and associated stakeholders. Our client successes involve for-profit and non-profit entities in areas of funding, research and public policy. We identify and target novel funding opportunities, synergies between client technology and federal/private needs, and policy issues that affect life sciences companies. Our expertise provides our clients an advantage over competitors in the federal and non-federal funding market. Since 2003, our team has helped clients secure nearly $1B in non-dilutive funding and services. Led by Stephen Conafay, TCG is a team of engineers, scientists, and policy experts, as well as former industry executives and federal staff, who offer a wealth of scientific and policy expertise in issues relevant to the life sciences and biotechnology industry. Applying this collective expertise, we have an intimate understanding of the non-dilutive funding landscape, healthcare and innovation policy, federal government needs and priorities, and commercial/institutional partnering opportunities. Our strength lies in putting this knowledge, and our familiarity with the science behind our clients’ technology, to work for our clients. Through our team‐based approach, we are able to deliver fully integrated government relations strategies that enable our clients to achieve greater success.