RAUL G. CATANGUI
President raul@synergyalliances.comMr. Raul G. Catangui has over 16 years of professional experience in the legislative, public policy, regulatory, campaign and legal environments, both at the state and federal levels. His experience in these specialized areas, which he acquired while working in the U.S. Congress, state legislature and the governor’s office, trade associations, Fortune 100 corporations, law firms and several political campaigns, allow him to see the “big picture” and clearly understand the confluence of issues from all perspectives – federal, state and international.
Mr. Catangui was recently the Vice President for Smartel, a technology company, and formerly the Legislative & Regulatory Counsel to the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA), which is the Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Transportation on ITS. He also served as Counsel to the ITSA Trade Association, which represented ITS corporations, and the ITSA TEA-21 Reauthorization Task Force and the Transportation Export Council (TEC). He was previously the Director of Public Policy & Trade for IPC, which is the trade association for the U.S. circuit board industry. Mr. Catangui was also appointed as Special Assistant to and directed Governor Benjamin Cayetano’s (Hawaii) Washington, DC office, and worked closely with the National Governors’ Association (NGA) and intergovernmental organizations to advance the State of Hawaii’s interest in Washington. D.C. Prior to this position, he was a Legislative Assistant/Counsel to U.S. Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink, and he worked in the Hawaii State legislature for 2 sessions as a Legislative Aide to Senator Clayton H.W. Hee, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In addition, Mr. Catangui worked for nearly 3 years at Corning, Inc.’s government affairs office in Washington, D.C., and also for the international trade law firm Graham & James, LLP, Catangui & Catangui, P.C. and other prominent firms in Washington, D.C. and Hawaii. He interned at the Embassy of the Philippines, U.S. Attorney’s Office, D.C. Superior Court and the State of Hawaii Attorney General’s Office. Mr. Catangui was also the President of Rainbow Couriers & Excel Research, Inc., a company he co-owned and managed for over 3 years (which is still operating after over 20 years). He has federal & state campaign management and grassroots experience accumulated during two presidential campaigns, and previously was a Co-Campaign Manager of a state legislative re-election race.
Mr. Catangui has a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Hawaii and University of California at Irvine, graduating With High Distinction (3.7/4.0 GPA), and a Juris Doctor from the American University (AU), Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. Moreover, he completed the Masters program at AU’s School of International Studies (SIS). Mr. Catangui published and made numerous presentations on ITS, technology and transportation legislation and public policy, regulation, privacy and international trade to industry, corporations and public groups. He was recently invited to speak on location-based privacy at the ITS World Congress in Sydney, Australia, and presented at the California Alliance for Advanced Transportation Systems (CAATS) Conference in San Diego, CA. He was responsible for and initiated the creation of the ITS Congressional Caucus, which seeks to educate members of U.S. Congress & their staff and the public on ITS, transportation, telecommunications, and to promote the development and deployment of ITS. Mr. Catangui is also very active with the ITS state chapters. Mr. Catangui is a registered lobbyist with the U.S. Congress and several states. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of several private, non-profits, professional associations, and volunteers for several interest groups.
