Mike Leonard

Vice President of Government Affairs, American Sportfishing Association

Mike Leonard is the Vice President of Government Affairs at the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), based in Alexandria, Va. ASA is the sportfishing industry’s trade association, providing the industry with a unified voice when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. Leonard oversees the association’s public policy activities on a variety of natural resource and trade issues at the national, regional and state levels. He serves on several advisory bodies to promote fisheries conservation and recreational fishing access, including the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, the American Fisheries Advisory Committee, the National Fish Habitat Partnership Board, the Center for Sportfishing Policy Government Relations Committee, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Policy Council and the Virginia Menhaden Management Advisory Committee. He first joined ASA in 2009 as the association’s Policy Fellow. He holds a master’s degree in fisheries management from Auburn University and a bachelor’s degree in fisheries science from Virginia Tech.