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Marlene M. Colucci serves as executive vice president of public policy for AH&LA. Ms. Colucci is responsible for setting the policy agenda and implementing the lobbying efforts of the association, providing guidance on all legislative and regulatory matters impacting AH&LA members, and directing the association's political activity. In addition, she works directly with Members of Congress and the administration to promote travel and tourism as an industry.

Ms. Colucci brings strong credentials and years of political expertise to AH&LA. Before coming to the association in mid-2005, Colucci served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush in the Office of Domestic Policy. In that capacity, she coordinated all labor, transportation and postal reform policy initiatives for the White House. Prior to that, she was appointed by the President to serve at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., as both the deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs and as counsel to the Deputy Secretary of Labor. From 1990 to 2002, Ms. Colucci served as senior counsel to the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP in Washington, D.C., where she advised clients on a wide range of policy matters and frequently spoke to groups regarding the importance of grass roots advocacy.

A native of California, Ms. Colucci holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the California and the District of Columbia Bar Associations. Ms. Colucci enjoys art, music, and travel. She also spends time working with an organization she founded to promote women in public policy.  Ms. Colucci and her husband Steve Renna reside in Washington, D.C.