Evan Garber
Architect of Political Strategy, Anthony L. Cignoli & Associates: Age 26
As a child, Evan Garber surprised his parents when he took a keen interest in one of President Obama’s State of the Union speeches. And he never lost his interest in the political sphere, even when he enrolled at UMass Amherst thinking he might be a teacher someday, like both his mother and father.
But he shifted gears in graduate school, earning a master’s degree in public policy and getting connected to Tony Cignoli for an internship. And he found a real passion for the work being done at that business, governmental, and political consultancy — and he’s been there ever since, eventually becoming the youngest vice president in the firm’s history.
“I love the variety of impact we have. If I was working a desk job in a cubicle doing the same repetitive tasks every day, I would explode,” he said. “I love a variety of challenges, new things that come in every single day, whether it’s working with Hollywood clients like Ed Begley Jr. or doing pro bono work for a local nonprofit, or working with international clients like Eastman, or political campaigns in Georgia and South Carolina.”
Equally gratifying is seeing the community impact of some of that work. For example, Garber helped secure state and federal funding for the ongoing, multi-million-dollar renovation of Easthampton’s Old Town Hall for the CitySpace performing arts project.
“They’re constructing an elevator shaft and making the whole building accessible for arts programming, and driving past that every day is so cool,” he said. “ It’s a concrete example of the work we do. I’ve always been engaged with local communities — how we can solve our big issues?”
Active in the local theater scene, Garber has also taken on numerous community volunteer roles over the years, like his work with the Manhan Rail Trail Committee, with which he oversaw a MassTrails grant for repaving, organized and completed a trail map update, and has worked with MassBike to implement bike valet at community events.
“I moved to Easthampton after grad school, and now I’m on the rail trail all the time. So I asked, how can I give back to this?” he said. “Especially after COVID, a lot of these nonprofits and municipal boards don’t have as many people on them, so it’s really good for young people like me to join these things — anything I can do to give back to organizations that have given so much to me.”
—Joseph Bednar
