Summer Mersinger -  Former Guest Speaker at the Leadership Institute

A native of South Dakota, Summer Mersinger joined The Smith-Free Group after over fifteen years working alongside Chairman John Thune (R-SD) in both chambers of Congress.

Summer served as a key member of Senator Thune’s campaign team during the pivotal 2004 election and was instrumental in organizing Thune’s Senate staff. In addition to her Hill experience, Mersinger previously served as a Director of Government Relations at the DC-based law firm Arent Fox.

Coordinating legislative activities for Thune’s team, Mersinger worked regularly with Senate leadership and senior staff on both sides of the aisle during key policy debates involving banking and finance, telecommunications and surface transportation as well as agriculture and trade.  Additionally, Summer was directly involved in the communications efforts spearheaded by Thune through his leadership post on the Senate Republican Conference.

Mersinger has a Juris Doctorate from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in Washington, DC. and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Minnesota.  

A resident of Fairfax Station, Virginia, Summer and her husband, Patrick, have four children--Sienna, Sydney, Wyatt and Drake.

Summer Mersinger