Editor’s note: This page was originally published on October 14, 2015. An update reflecting the 2017 dissolution of the partnership and Larry Rasky’s death in 2020 was added on June 21, 2026. The original publication date and original body are preserved below; the update follows at the bottom of the page.
Original profile (October 2015)
Rasky Baerlein was founded in 1997 by Larry Rasky, Joe Baerlein, and Ann Carter. They are now a major public affairs firm in the U.S. with offices in Boston and Washington DC. They currently have about 55 employees.
Early in 2014 they merged with Prism Public Affairs, a Washington DC strategic communications and public affairs firm with a great reputation. They are highly experienced in fields covering business, government, journalism, law, and media.
Larry Rasky is the CEO and Chairman, Joe Baerlein is the President. Principals are Ann Carter, Amanda Deaver, Jonathan Karush, and Rex Granum. From their inception, they had a plan to gather really smart people with backgrounds in law, the media, government, and business. Using those talents and experience they set out to create and execute public affairs campaigns and strategic communications obtaining results for their clients.
Merging with Prism was a no-brainer since Prism is known for their issue-driven, smart communications benefiting and protecting their client’s reputations. Prism’s goals and history fit right in step with Rasky Baerlein’s ideas.
The range of services they offer clients includes public affairs, ballot initiative management, government relations, crisis and litigation communications, public relations, public policy communications, advocacy strategies, and digital efforts.
Some of their clients include MooBella, Catholic Charities, Museum of Science, U.S. Mortgage Insurers, Boston Red Sox, Mediacom, Total Mobile, NRG Home Solar, and Boston Medical.
They choose to remain fairly small because it allows their teams to work closely with the clients, including top-level management at Rasky Baerlein. Over the years they have worked for a wide range of clients and provided many services. This allowed their team members to garner and use their experience for corporations, trade associations, non-profits, individuals, educational institutions, coalitions, and foreign governments.
Since 2009 the firm has amped up their paid lobbying efforts. Prior to that time, they spent almost nothing, but beginning in 2009 moving forward, they have spent a minimum of $600K and some years nearly double that amount.
One of the biggest factors in that amount is in the Oil and Gas industry for a client, Petroleos de Venezuela, SA. Other areas where they have spent lobbying dollars include healthcare, hospitals, electronics, and telecom sectors.
In 2014, they facilitated campaign contributions from individuals for just over $200K, primarily donating to Democratic candidates and causes. The largest contribution is to Ed Markey’s campaign — which makes sense, since prior to forming the firm, Rasky was an aide to Senator Markey. At various times he also worked on campaigns for Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Jimmy Carter. Various other members of the team have strong political connections and pedigrees.
Update: The 2017 Split and After
The Rasky Baerlein partnership ended in February 2017, after twenty years. Larry Rasky bought out Joe Baerlein and Ann Carter and renamed the firm Rasky Partners, Inc., retaining roughly 50 employees across Boston and Washington. Joe Baerlein launched Baerlein & Partners. Ann Carter exited to start her own venture. All three described the split as amicable. The renamed firm kept the majority of the client roster.
Larry Rasky died on March 22, 2020, at age 69, at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts. His family disclosed that he posthumously tested positive for COVID-19, with underlying health conditions cited. He had been actively working on Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign as treasurer of the Unite the Country super PAC up to the week he died.
Rasky Partners continues to operate from Boston and Washington as an independent public relations, lobbying, and public affairs firm. For the full retrospective on the firm and its founder, see Larry Rasky and the Rise and Reshaping of Rasky Baerlein.
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