Norm Kurz is founder and President of The Kurz Company, LLC, a
Washington-based consulting firm focusing on international business
and public policy, working at the intersection of politics, policy and
strategic communications. Kurz helps clients understand the dynamics
of politics and media in Washington and abroad, shapes and executes
foreign policy and national security messages, and positions clients
to their best advantage before diverse audiences.

Since opening his firm in 2006, Kurz has worked on behalf of a
consortium of non-governmental organizations in Azerbaijan dealing
with sensitive regional issues and the country's bilateral
relationship with the U.S.; the major reformist political party in
Kazakhstan; the former Prime Minister of Romania; Iranian-Americans
advocating for democratic change in Iran; and a range of issues
concerning Israel, the Palestinians and Iran. He has participated in
a strategic communications process for the U.S. military's Central
Command (Centcom) and a similar process for Boeing's Missile Defense
development activities.

In addition, he consults to Astraea Productions and its efforts to
develop and bring to market its documentary on domestic violence in
the United States, and was part of a national team of attorneys and
consultants working to provide legal assistance to victims of
Hurricane Katrina.

Prior to starting The Kurz Company, LLC, he served from 2000–2006 as
Communications Director for U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and
spokesman for Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In that capacity, Kurz traveled with Chairman Biden to Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Bahrain, the Palestinian territories, Israel, Libya and
Mexico. In addition, he served as spokesman for the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, and served as counselor to the
Senator on judicial nominations. He worked previously on Capitol Hill
as Communications Director to U.S. Senator Wyche Fowler (D-Georgia),
and Press Secretary to U.S. House Armed Services Committee chairman
Les Aspin (D-Wisconsin).

He was founding partner at Kurz and Volk, a political consulting firm
whose clients included U.S. Senators Joe Lieberman, Paul Wellstone,
Tim Wirth and Evan Bayh; Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun; several
U.S. House members; and non profit organizations.

In the non-profit arena, Kurz directed communications in North
America, Europe and the Middle East for the New Israel Fund, an
international partnership of Israelis, Americans and Europeans that
pioneered the funding of Israel's social change organizations and
advocacy groups through more than $200 million in grants to 800
national and community-based Israeli organizations.

Earlier in his career, as a senior public relations professional, his
clients including the AFL-CIO and several major labor unions,
environmental groups, trial lawyers and non profits.

Kurz lectures on "Congress, the Media and Foreign Policy" at the
Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington
University. He writes regularly on the politics of national
security, and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, the BBC and NPR.

Kurz graduated from UCLA and attended The Johns Hopkins University on
a graduate fellowship. In addition to English, he speaks passable
Hungarian, Hebrew and Spanish. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland with
his wife, Mimi Guernica, an environmental attorney at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, and their two sons.

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