State Affairs, the AI-powered policy intelligence platform backed by $70 million in funding, hosted its inaugural Customer Advisory Board in Washington, D.C. on September 16.
The board brings together 11 senior government affairs and public policy leaders from companies including Carvana (NYSE: CVNA), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Mastercard (NYSE: MA), Churchill Downs (NASDAQ: CHDN), Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV), Siemens, UKG, and the Home Builders Institute.
The advisory board formalizes a customer feedback structure that State Affairs says has shaped its platform since the company’s founding.
The scale of the challenge these leaders face is significant, with state legislatures introducing more than 135,000 bills in 2025, a 76% increase from 2024, and holding over 33,000 hearings, an 81% jump.
CAB members gain early visibility into upcoming product developments, a formal role in shaping the platform roadmap, and access to a peer network of senior government affairs professionals.
Evan Burns, co-founder and CEO of State Affairs, emphasized the strategic importance of the group assembled for the board’s first session.
“Policy and regulatory markets shape business more than financial markets do, and the people on this board manage that exposure for some of the biggest brands in the world,” Burns said.
Burns added that feedback gathered on September 16 is already being incorporated into the company’s development plans, stating that “what we heard on September 16 is already influencing what we’ll build in 2027.”
David Adelman, GM of Enterprise Growth at State Affairs, described the session’s structure as deliberately member-driven, saying “the group told us where State Affairs shines and what they need next to excel in their roles.”
Sarah Shambrook, Manager of Government Affairs at Carvana, highlighted the platform’s value for anticipating legislative trends across the country.
“Government affairs is about staying ahead of what’s coming,” Shambrook said, noting that State Affairs allows her team to “spot trends and anticipate what’s coming year to year.”
State Affairs operates one of the nation’s largest networks of embedded statehouse reporters, feeding an AI knowledge graph that tracks every bill, regulation, and hearing across all 50 states and the federal government.
The partial list of advisory board members also includes Shannon McCracken of Churchill Downs, Megan Boland of Mastercard, John Morken of Fiserv, and Matt Fitz-Gerald of Walmart, among others.
