MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
October 6, 2023
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
In accordance with section 2 of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 ( D.C. Law
2-142; D.C. Official Code § 1-523.01), and pursuant to D.C. Official Code §§ 25- 201(a) and 25-
206, I am pleased to nominate the following individual:
Mr. Silas H. Grant, Jr.
Evarts Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(Ward 5 )
for appointment as a member of the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, replacing Ed
Grandis, for a term to end May 7, 202 7.
Enclosed you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-mentioned
nominee, together with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation process.
I would appreciate the Council’s earliest consideration of this nomination for confirmation.
Please do not hesitate to contact me, or Steven Walker, Director, Mayor’s Office of Talent
and Appointments, should the Council require additional information.
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser
Mayor
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Chairman Phil Mendelson
at the request
of the Mayor
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
18 To confirm the appointment of Mr. Silas H. Grant, Jr. as a member of the Alcoholic Beverage
19 and Cannabis Board.
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RESOLVED, BY COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
22 resolution may be cited as the "Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board Silas H. Grant, Jr.
23 Confirmation Resolution of 2023 ".
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25 Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia confirms the appointment of:
26 Mr. Silas H. Grant, Jr.
27 Evarts Street, NE
28 Washington, DC 20002
29 (Ward 5)
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31 as a member of the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, pursuant to D.C. Official Code§§
32 25-201(a) and 25-206, replacing Ed Grandis, for a term to end May 7, 2027.
33 Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
34 upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Office of the Mayor.
35 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. SILAS GRANTWASHINGTON, D.C.2024984196DETAILSWashington, D.C.2024984196silasgrant@me.comLINKSLinkedInSKILLSCommunicationLeadershipCreativityTime ManagementTeamworkAdaptabilityCustomer ServiceDetail OrientedHOBBIESWalking long distances, cycling, writingPROFILESilas provides strategic counsel to leaders positioned in high-profile, high-impact situations. Silas is a self-described "student of people", taking pride in wide-spanning relationships and a love for community and stakeholder engagement. Silas is a master communicator, accustomed to amplifying and translating messaging from public leaders to audiences with a keen interest in the vision of those public leaders. Silas is accustomed to forecasting challenges and obstacles, as well as managing complex, fast-moving, and unexpected challenges with high-judgment and professionalism. EMPLOYMENT HISTORYFounder at Quality People Solutions, Washington, D.C.October 2022 — PresentQP Solutions creates and teaches content in the form of workshops and presentations for government agencies, youth organizations, workforce programming, and other entities focused on the personal development of cohorts. Services provided are typically focused on increasing the awareness of participants and the audience in the areas of consideration, preparation, staff development, transforming culture, life skills development, team-building, and critical thinking.Senior Advisor at Council of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.August 2018 — December 2022Served as the Senior Advisor to the Ward 5 elected member for the Council of the District of Columbia on legislative, budget, and constituent affairs. Worked in collaboration with the member’s legislative team to ensure that the member’s strategic initiatives are achieved. Worked diligently with the Executive Branch of District of Columbia Government to ensure that key legislative measures are implemented and executed in line with their intended purposes as established by the member. Ensured that policies initiated by the member through legislative measures are impacting the intended beneficiaries. Responsible for cultivating and maintaining key stakeholder relationships internal and external to government to advance the member’s initiatives as well as proactively providing related counsel. Displayed critical knowledge of cultural norms across a variety of demographic segments which is leveraged to ensure connectivity between the member, our office, and residents of the District of Columbia. Served as a representative for the office liaising with District agencies to retrieve information vital to solving problems for the ward’s 80,000 residents.Served as a liaison to District of Columbia operational agencies providing constituent service responses for over 80,000 residents in ward 5. Coordinating with more than 50, locally-elected civic leaders to respond to constituent requests and concerns. Provided ongoing strategy and assisted in establishing and maintaining best practices for constituent services team. Responsible for relationship-building and growth of opportunities for partnerships with CBOs doing work across the ward. These efforts lead to the creation of legislation, implementation of government programs, as well as advocacy for funding in the local budget to assist these groups in continuing their efforts to serve several community segments. Served as a liaison to several segments including labor, violence interrupters, returning citizens, transportation advocates, faith-based communities, small business owners, as well as other special interests groups. Lead, planned, and executed special events such as briefings, press conferences, media, and policymaker events, that increased connectivity and visibility for the Ward 5 Councilmember. The increased connectivity and visibility was also achieved through social media, targeted legislation, and strategic stakeholder management.Drove communications campaigns in the form of social media content creation, video production, as well as script writing. Responsible for drafting and publishing inter-agency correspondences, press releases, as well drafting talking points and opening statements for the member in preparation for panel discussions, keynote speeches, and legislative hearings among diverse audiences. Provided and developed strategic direction on legislative, budgetary, and constituent issues.Field Director at The Campaign to Re-Elect Kenyan R. McDuffie, Washington, D.C.March 2018 — October 2018Organized volunteers for phone banking, canvassing, delivery of campaign materials, and poll-worker assignments. Responsible for spearheading canvassing efforts for the candidate in a ward-wide city council election that includes an estimated 13,000 voters. Analyzed data retrieved from canvassing to assist in messaging for digital campaign communications and public speaking opportunities by the candidate. Field operations assisted in securing victory with 69% of the vote in the 2018 Democratic Primary.Special Assistant at Council of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.April 2015 — March 2016Lead efforts to increase visibility for the councilman throughout the ward; assisted and advised the councilman in crafting a number of policies, including legislation that promotes a public health approach to violence prevention. Served as a liaison between the council office and the small business community within the ward. Facilitated engagement between small businesses in the ward and public agencies responsible for business funding for commercial property acquisitions.Business Analyst at AARP, Washington, D.C.September 2013 — April 2015Lead the efforts to implement an Employee Engagement Development Program (EED) within Finance (efforts included creating and presenting a business case, developing a project scope of work, defining roles and responsibilities, leading the pilot project team, and submitting programmatic recommendations for next steps following the pilot); responsible for assisting in the updating, reporting, and analyzing of Finance's quarterly dashboard charts and commentary; Assisting in the updating, reporting, and analyzing of Finance's Customer Satisfaction Pulse Survey through the Management by Fact (MBF) methodology; providing data analysis in response to Finance's employee opinion survey scores (specifically focusing on identifying trends and response patterns in an effort to improve group-wide scores); responsible for retrieving and documenting 360 feedback for CFO Efficiency Project, along with providing summary analysis of next steps for CFO in response to findings; documented quarterly actions and performance measures of CFO direct reports for multi-year strategic plans within Finance; and documenting and reporting feedback to CFO from Finance staff during all-hands meetings (specifically in areas of accountability, customer service, internal/external collaboration, as well as understanding clients and their business);Business Requirements Analyst at AARP, Washington, D.C.August 2008 — August 2013Serving as the primary Financial Help Desk Administrator and responding to approximately 400 queries per quarter, which totaled to 10,000 queries in five years; maintained an assigned/resolved rate of 90-95% within the SLA agreed time; provided training and client relations support; analyzing, researching and documenting best practices approaches for financial operations; reviewing and writing training material to ensure quality customer service and team-building skills; facilitating training course for new managers on planning, purchasing, paying, and tracking within our ERP system; initiating guidelines and procedures to ensure data integrity and software security for financial systems; creating and maintaining financial software status reports; and analyzing service level agreements.EDUCATIONAccounting, Hampton University, Hampton, VirginiaAugust 1997 — May 2002EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIESBoard Member at Reading Partners DC, Washington, D.C.Founder at One Step Walking ClubSite Coordinator at Project Giveback Co-Founder at "ManUP!" Leadership Development BootcampVolunteer at Lifting As We Climb FoundationFormer Member at DC's Commission on Fathers, Men, and BoysFormer Representative at Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (Formerly ANC 5C; Now ANC 5E)Former Representative at DC's Bicycle Advisory Council
Executive Office of the Mayor - Office of Talent and Appointments
John A. Wilson Building | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004
Silas Grant
Silas Hampton Grant, Jr. has dedicated his life to community
engagement and activism in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan
area, and dedicates much of his time to volunteerism as well as
developing the next generation of public leaders.
Mr. Grant has served as an elected official in the District of
Columbia as a former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and
a former Chair of the Ward 5 Democrats. He has also been
nominated to boards and c ommissions in the District of Columbia
including the Commission on Fathers, Men, and Boys for the
District of Columbia and the Bicycle Advisory Council.
Mr. Grant has also assisted in the implementation of gang and violence prevention programs
throughout the city. His advocacy and lobbying has influenced legislation meant to improve the
lives of at- risk families. He has advised several community-based organizations, elected leaders,
and agencies in an effort to secure programming related to life skills, mentoring, case
management, and workforce development. Mr. Grant currently serves as a board member for
Reading Partners DC, an organization committing to improving literacy for children in the
District of Columbia.
Mr. Grant is the Founder of Quality People Solutions, a company focused on developing public
service professionals and other outward facing leaders looking to further understand their
purpose and engage with diverse communities. Silas provides workshop- styled trainings and
content that aims to focus on the 360 degree wellness of those professionals and leaders.
A Ward 5 resident, Mr. Grant received a Bachelor of S cience in accounting from Hampton
University.
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser
Office of the General Counsel to the Mayor
______________________________________________________________________________
The John A. Wilson Building • 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 300 • Washington, D.C. 20004 • Office (202) 724 -7681
To: Tommy Wells, Steve Walker
From: Betsy Cavendish
Date: October 2, 2023
Subject: Legal sufficiency review of Resolution nominating Silas Grant, Jr. as a member of
the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board
This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above- referenced resolution and
found it to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not
hesitate to call Erika Satterlee, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Mayor, at 202 -
724-1303, or me at 202- 724-7681.
______________________________ Elizabeth A. (Betsy) Cavendish