Nora Wahlbrink is a Director at Breakwater Strategy. In her role, Nora works directly with clients and senior leadership to manage emerging risks in the marketplace, on the Hill and with all stakeholders. As a skilled writer and communicator, she is responsible for crafting messaging and using it to develop a suite of public deliverables such as press releases, blog posts, and social content. Though she specializes in the entertainment and technology industries, she also has experience in health, telecommunication, financial services, news media and more. She is particularly passionate about the role of the media in public relations and preparing spokespeople for successful high-stakes public appearances and interactions with reporters. 

Prior to joining the Breakwater team, Nora worked at Levick, a D.C.-based crisis communications firm, where she addressed rapid response issues. She has experience communicating around high-profile litigation, mergers and acquisitions, executive transitions, data breaches, foreign policy, personal events, and other issues. Originally from Rockville, MD, Nora graduated with honors from the University of Alabama as a presidential scholar with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and a minor in Business. 

Nora loves to cook and explore the DC food scene. When she’s not working, she’s most likely reading about a new restaurant, searching for weekend reservations, or on a good night – making something delicious at home. If you’re in need of a restaurant recommendation in the DC area, look no further. 

As a Partner at Breakwater, Steve brings his core expertise in strategy and decision making to the most complex challenges facing organizations at the intersection of economics, technology, politics, regulation, and human understanding through narrative. 

Alongside a thirty-year academic career at the University of California Berkeley (where he has a joint appointment as Professor at the School of Information and in the department of Political Science), Steve has advised global firms, government agencies, and non-profit organizations around the world on risk analysis, strategy, and communications, using a diverse set of qualitative and quantitative methods fit to purpose. Recognized as one of the world’s most expert practitioners of scenario planning, Steve has worked with more than 50 companies and organizations to develop this discipline as a strategy planning tool in uncertain and turbulent business environments. He started his advisory career at the boutique consulting firm Global Business Network in the 1990s and in the 2000s worked with The Monitor Group to help clients navigate transitions in information technology, finance, health care, consumer goods, and other sectors transformed by digital and by evolving global and national political economy. 

Steve served as special political advisor to the first president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He was Director of the Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley from 2003 to 2009, and in 2015 he founded the Center for Long Term Cybersecurity at UC Berkeley, where he directs a multi-disciplinary research program on emerging digital security issues at the intersection of new technologies, human behavior, and risk calculations made by firms and governments. His best-known book, The Success of Open Source, was the first extensive study of how the open source software community works. His most recent book  Bloc by Bloc:  How to Organize a Global Enterprise (2019) explains how economic geography is evolving around machine learning, and the consequences for multinational organizations in the post financial and Covid crises world. 

Steve brings a research-based innovation discipline to strategy and communications problems, along with a deep commitment to creative engagement with how people understand their environment, change their minds, and ultimately change the world through narrative. Steve lives in the Hudson River Valley north of New York City with his partner Regina and two Burmese cats named Napoleon and Mrs. Peel.  All four are life-long-suffering fans of the New York Football Giants. 

A Director at Breakwater Strategy, Ben brings a passion for brand positioning, leadership and policy to develop strategic communications programs across an array of issues and industries. His main responsibilities include strategic advisory, messaging and content development, media relations and internal and external project management. He has helped advise clients from Fortune 500’s to nonprofits, and collaborated with leaders to develop and execute strategies to position brands within complex political and regulatory environments, elevate profiles, launch new initiatives, successfully navigate crises and more.  

Prior to joining Breakwater, Ben got his start in strategic communications in the D.C. office of High Lantern Group, a strategic communications and positioning firm, where he worked on a number of global communications and issues management projects. From 2013-2016, he was on the research team at Correct The Record a part of the coordinated Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, where he helped shape the positive narrative around Secretary Clinton’s service at the State Department.    

A Massachusetts native and sometimes Mainer, Ben has a BA in history from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. When he’s not at home in DC with his wife, dog and cat, he can be found supporting his favorite Boston sports teams, relaxing in Maine, skiing or at a Pearl Jam show. 

Zoe is an Associate at Breakwater Strategy, where she conducts policy research and analysis to develop strategic communications and media recommendations for clients. She additionally supports senior staff in scenario planning and strategic messaging.

Prior to joining Breakwater, Zoe worked as a Research Associate at the Democratic National Committee (DNC). During the 2024 election cycle, she analyzed policy proposals from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and developed strategic messaging frameworks for the American public. Zoe’s passion for policy research, democracy protection, and advocacy led her to her role at the DNC following a post-graduate internship with Ambassador Norman Eisen’s Ethics, Rule of Law, and Accountability team at the Brookings Institution. While at Brookings, Zoe co-authored a blog with Ambassador Eisen arguing for specific state legislative protections for female election officials. Zoe also served as the Maine State Director for the Every Voice Coalition, a national organization working to end sexual violence on college campuses through state-based advocacy and legislation. In May of 2022, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed Every Voice’s comprehensive campus safety legislation into law.

Zoe graduated magna cum laude with Honors from Bates College, earning a Major in Politics and a Minor in Spanish. While at Bates, Zoe was named a Dana Scholar, an award granted to students demonstrating academic excellence, community engagement, and leadership potential. She served as captain of the Women’s Club Water Polo Team and studied international policy in Sevilla, Spain. Her undergraduate Honors Politics thesis examined how state election law centralization affects local election officials’ resilience to misinformation and threats.

A Bay Area native now based in Washington, DC, Zoe spent a year living and working in Latin America and is fluent in Spanish. True to her West Coast roots, she spends her free time running, swimming, hiking, and skiing.