The Midwest Retail & Grocery Alliance has named new state lobbyists in Missouri and Kansas, announcing both appointments Nov. 2 with effect from Nov. 1 as the association builds out its government relations ahead of the 2027 legislative sessions.
The appointments give the alliance, formed in late 2025 through the merger of the Missouri Grocers Association and the Retail Grocers Association, dedicated representation in both of its core statehouses.
Missouri: Gill Policy Group
Gill Policy Group LLC, the Kansas City-based firm led by principal Ryan G. Gill, will represent MRGA and its members before the Missouri General Assembly, the executive branch and state agencies, providing year-round representation including direct lobbying, legislative and regulatory monitoring, bill and amendment strategy, testimony coordination, coalition work and grassroots advocacy connecting members with their legislators.
“Missouri’s grocers and retailers feed communities in every corner of this state, and they deserve a strong, consistent voice in Jefferson City,” said Dan Shaul, president and CEO of MRGA. “Ryan knows the Capitol, he knows rural Missouri, and he understands the issues our members face every day, from SNAP and food policy to labor costs and taxes.”
Gill founded the firm in 2024 after serving as chief of staff to Missouri state Sen. Jason Bean from 2020 to 2023, previously managing Missouri Senate campaigns and leading grassroots advocacy for the Missouri Soybean Association. A Missouri Army National Guard veteran who served in Iraq, Haiti and Qatar, Gill is joined by associate Trinity Crouch, formerly legislative director for the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
Kansas: Jacqueline Clark
In Kansas, MRGA has added Jacqueline Clark, president and founder of Town & Country Strategies LLC, to lead advocacy before the Kansas Legislature, the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office, including direct lobbying, testimony, coordination with allied business and agriculture groups and engaging Kansas grocers with their elected officials.
“Knowing legislators and helping them understand the business challenges grocers face is vitally important to our members,” Shaul said.
Clark, a 2025 and 2026 National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics Top Lobbyist, brings more than 30 years of experience at the Kansas Capitol, with a record representing Hallmark Cards and Ash Grove Cement Co. and leadership roles with the Kansas Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Overland Park chamber. Her firm is the Kansas City area’s only woman-owned national government relations consultancy led by an accredited PRSA College of Fellows member.
“Grocers are an important part of the agriculture supply chain in Kansas, the retail face in our communities,” Clark said. “It’s essential that public policy supports access to grocery stores and focuses on grocers’ ability to maintain and grow their businesses while avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens.”
MRGA represents grocery retailers and industry partners throughout the Midwest, providing advocacy, education, resources and networking.
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