Michael Whatley – Partner

A Partner at HBW Resources, Mr. Whatley served as the Chief of Staff for Senator Elizabeth Dole; Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change and Nuclear Safety of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the United States Department of Energy, and Counsel to the Senate Republican Conference. Mr. Whatley also served as a Senior Policy Coordinator and Counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaign and transition teams.

While serving as the Chief of Staff to Senator Dole, Mr. Whatley directed and supervised all operations for the Senator, including communications, legislative, policy and political initiatives. As the Staff Director and Chief Counsel to the Clean Air, Climate Change and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, Mr. Whatley drafted and managed legislation on energy, environmental and transportation issues, including the Clean Air Act and major transportation legislation, and directed Congressional oversight of TVA, NRC and EPA. While serving at the Department of Energy, Mr. Whatley directed the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs with managerial responsibility over 46 employees and direct responsibility for presenting Departmental and Administration positions on national energy and environmental policies. As Counsel to the Senate Republican Conference, Mr. Whatley helped determine the Republican legislative and communications agendas in the United States Senate.

Prior to his public service in Washington, Mr. Whatley served as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert D. Potter, Senior United States District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina.

After leaving public service, and prior to founding HBW Resources, Mr. Whatley founded the Patriot Group, a senior level policy and legislative advocacy organization, and was a partner in the Washington, DC office of O’Connor & Hannan, a Washington, D.C. based full-service law firm with expertise in energy, environment and transportation policy.

He holds a JD and Masters Degree in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, a Masters Degree in Religion from Wake Forest University and a Bachelors Degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.