Executives, Entrepreneurs, and Business entities benefit from calm, seasoned, neutral voices to guide you through challenging times & fully prepare you for any potential road blocks.

The new economy has elevated the importance of governance. People are paying attention to the good actors. In today’s connected world, employees, stakeholders, clients, customers, investors, the media, and elected officials are paying attention and reacting.

How businesses conduct themselves matter. There are rules, regulations and laws. I will shepherd your way through these with calm, cool, confidence.

I honed my negotiation skills practicing law in Palo Alto, California.

A move to Texas sharpened those skills when I spent 12 years negotiating legislation on behalf of the Chairman of Calendars and later the Speaker Pro Tem of the Texas House. A six hour policy negotiation is a piece of cake for me.

Lest not forget, while I'm negotiating for you, my mind is working as an attorney’s mind would analyzing positions, and options at a rapid pace to move your position forward.

I want you to reach your goals.

With a front row seat to the elusive meetings, I know the words and messages that turn your policy ideas into the ideas that are championed at the Legislature.

I've been drafting legislation, amendments and riders since 2000. Someone might ask me to do it in my sleep, but that might be too much… but I know that I can do it.

I have provided smart, strategic advice to clients who were under attack and clients whose policy agendas had robust opponents.

I keep my cool in a way others do not. No matter how loud the political noise is, I'll give you advice that moves your position forward in the best possible approach.

Being attentive, responsive and one-on-one means that my clients gain smart, strategic solutions that are personally tailored to them. My clients have my full attention because they deserve it.

When I served as counsel to the powerful house Calendars Committee for 3 consecutive legislative sessions, I learned the rules with an inside knowledge of only a very small handful of people.

After leaving the Capitol, I honed my knowledge of procedural rules both defensively to protect legislation and offensively to stop legislation.

I offer online and offline strategies to create, deliver, and market your socially conscious vision. I empower clients’ focus on purpose and profit.

Whether investing in your team’s healthcare, your company’s carbon footprint, or giving back to a chosen nonprofit, it is crucial to determine the ROI.

I will create a strategic communication plan for your key stake-holders.

I'll advise on methods to keep donors and/or investors engaged and up to date on your social impact with clear and deliberate reporting.

According to Statista, 77% of Americans have a social media profile of some kind. It is estimated that 2.34 billion users world-wide utilize social media. In October of 2018, Facebook reported over 2 billion users and Instagram has grown to 1 billion active users.

Your business should be speaking to customers where they are - online. I help you decide which social media platforms are best to reach your audience and assist in curating your content.

Reaching your audience where they are & speaking to them on their terms strengthens your relationship with your customers, stakeholders & community.

I'll work with you on crafting real human stories that captivate your audience.

I schedule your e-newsletters and fine-tune content in a way that acclimates to your audience’s response rate and engagement over time.

TESSA ZAVALA is a Belgian-born, Swedish-raised attorney and consultant who founded InfoHive, a highly curated regulatory trends and news service targeting businesses and industries that are impacted by the regulatory and legislative arena (that’s all businesses), co-founded social impact consulting firm, and in this new economy brought all of these under one business roof.

Before moving to Texas, she practiced law in the San Francisco Bay Area. After arriving in Texas, Tessa served for twelve years as general counsel to some of the highest positions in the House of Representatives. She served as counsel to the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Texas House of Representatives for two years, and for six years as committee counsel to the powerful House Calendars Committee. Tessa was privy to high level meetings and discussions that few inside the Capitol ever see.

Tessa’s service to the Legislature provided her an opportunity to build strong, trusted relationships with legislators, agency officials and staff. Transferring the skills she honed in the Legislature, Tessa began a legal consulting practice as a legislative lawyer offering procedural and strategic advice.

Tessa is recognized for her straightforward policy advice, creative strategic solutions and thorough institutional knowledge of the legislative process and procedure.

Tessa fell into the new economy when she read an article in 2014 about how university professors, who thought themselves egalitarian, discovered in a blind study that their grading style was not egalitarian. From there, she has learned from corporate social responsibility leaders and participated in the evolution of this new economic standard.

As a Nordic immigrant, she sees a world full of opportunities. She sees a world filled with successful businesses that drive profits higher through strategic philanthropy, sustainability, diversity, and inclusion.

Tessa earned her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and her J.D. from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She is licensed to practice law in California and Texas. Tessa speaks Swedish fluently which is like knowing a secret language as Texas population is triple the number of Swedish speakers in the world.

Stakeholder Relations
Partnership Development
Policy Development
Policy Strategy
Procedural Strategy
Communications
Legal Consulting
Strategic Counsel
Crisis Management
Policy Analysis
Negotiations
Executive Coaching
Compliance & Governance

Legislative Procedure
Eminent Domain & Land Use
Taxation and Finance
Transportation
Jurisprudence
Women’s Health Care
Education
Environmental Regulation
Local Government
Economic Development
Alcoholic Beverage Regulation
Sports and Entertainment
Pensions
Gaming
Ethics
Data Privacy
Blockchain
Cannabis Regulation
Social Impact
Stakeholder Capitalism