Andy Winer has over 30 years of legal and governmental experience.  Most recently, Andy served as Chief of Staff to Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI).

As Chief of Staff, Andy developed and coordinated the bipartisan appropriations strategy resulting in increased funding for numerous Hawaii priorities including the East West Center, clean energy research, Hawaii based defense contractors, endangered species, a new VA facility, and Native Hawaiian small businesses.  He also oversaw the bipartisan legislative strategy resulting in the passage of several bills including the Weather Forecast Improvement Act, the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act, the Modern Fish Act, and the CONNECT for Health Act.  In 2017-2018, Andy developed and implemented the strategy resulting in the nomination and confirmation of a 9^th circuit court of appeals judge and a federal district court judge in Hawaii.

Among his most significant achievements, Andy, in close collaboration with the Obama Administration and key Hawaii and national stakeholders, developed and executed the strategy which resulted in the expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument—the world’s largest marine protected area.

Before his time in the Senate, Andy served for three years as the Director of External Affairs at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during the Obama Administration.  In these roles, Andy developed and coordinated the engagement strategy on issues including the National Ocean Policy, NOAA’s Aquaculture Policy, NOAA’s Scientific Integrity Policy, and NOAA’s Recreational Fishing Initiative.  At NOAA, Andy also served as the Co-Chair of the United States Coral Reef Task Force, and he coordinated inter-agency engagement on issues relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Prior to his government service in Washington, D.C., Andy practiced law in Hawaii for over twenty years, and he founded and served as the managing partner of a successful law firm in Honolulu for fifteen years.  Andy’s law practice emphasized litigation and arbitration of disputes involving construction, real estate, personal injury, insurance coverage, professional liability and employment discrimination.  He also successfully mediated hundreds of personal injury, labor, employment, construction, environmental, business, and real estate cases, and he served as an arbitrator or hearings officer on approximately 200 construction, personal injury, labor, insurance coverage, environmental, real estate, land use and commercial disputes.