JONATHAN FELTS

Jonathan Felts delivers a unique perspective for clients facing difficult public affairs challenges in North Carolina and around the world. With a professional biography ranging from the fabled hallways of the West Wing in the White House to the dirt streets of Kabul to several offices in between, Felts has faced unique challenges and crafted innovative solutions at every turn of his career. 

Not hailing from a family with a political pedigree, Felts started his political career the old-fashioned way, by volunteering. After covering the frozen tundra of a New Hampshire presidential primary, he was hooked on politics and determined to succeed in changing his country for the better. Returning home, Felts worked on campaigns in North Carolina before branching out and working on House, Senate, and Presidential campaigns across the country. Eventually, politics would take him to public service roles on Capitol Hill and at The White House.

Felts was selected to lead the Bush Cheney reelection effort in North Carolina in 2004. Following this leadership role, he joined the White House staff in the Office of Political Affairs and was eventually named White House Political Director, serving as a key advisor to the president, the vice president, and the White House senior staff on matters of politics, policy, and the domestic travels. 

After the White House, Felts’s career path swerved a bit as he jumped at the opportunity to work in the vacation paradise of Kabul, serving as an advisor for The International Republican Institute on a Democracy development project. He returned to the United States with a year of in-your-face international development experience under his belt; a dog; and a long, gray beard.

Despite the facial hair, Felts landed at the American Bankers Association as Vice President for Grassroots Advocacy & Political Affairs, helping the organization navigate difficult, new challenges in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown.

Felts returned to North Carolina to serve as a Senior Advisor to the Governor before beginning his public affairs consulting career in Raleigh. He founded the Indie Group NC in 2017, which specializes in executive communications, crisis management, political intelligence, and issue advocacy.

Felts and his wife, Courtney, live in Raleigh with their two young sons and Indie (short for Independence), the aforementioned puppy from the streets of Kabul who led a grassroots advocacy effort to convince Felts to bring her with him when he returned from Afghanistan.

The first in his family to go to college, Felts is a graduate of North Carolina State University. Felts was awarded The Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2016 and remains active in public service, presently serving as an unpaid advisor to the NC Superintendent of Public Instruction.