CHRISTOPHER HOPKINS

PRESIDENT

RIVER LANDING SOLUTIONS

Chris opened the doors of River Landing Solutions LLC in 2016. He has worked in the field of regulatory politics and community solutions since 1999. Prior to 1999, Chris spent the previous ten years working on electoral campaigns, working on over 20 campaigns.

Since 1999, Chris has been working exclusively with corporate clients navigating regulatory issues and defusing angry community opposition. He has managed corporate campaigns in 36 states and 5 foreign countries managing over 250 regulatory campaigns for construction material companies, asphalt companies, mining companies, senior community developers and retail commercial developers.

He is a regular speaker on overcoming the political difficulties of regulatory approvals, most notably in the aggregate, asphalt, and mineral mining industries.

Chris is a frequent speaker before such organizations as the National Sand, Stone and Gravel Association, the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration and the American Exploration and Mining Association and the International Association for Public Participation.

Chris has been an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona, where he taught in the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources on how politics impact the regulatory processes and how to overcome organized opposition.  Chris has also taught at the Global Mining Law Center at the James E Rogers School of Law at the University of Arizona on the role that politics plays during the regulatory process. Chris has also been a guest lecturer to graduate programs at several other prestigious universities as well, including the University of Utah, the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and the University of Illinois.  His articles are routinely published in industry trade journals.

Chris completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts and received his master’s degree in public policy and affairs from the McCormack Institute Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He has completed additional programs at Harvard, MIT, and the Harvard Business School.

Chris resides in Franklin, Tennessee where he can be found relaxing around a nice fire, reading one of his countless books on political history and volunteering on several causes.

During the summer months he can be found on Cape Cod enjoying the ocean and time with his family. Chris also enjoys writing and playing one of his many guitars.

BETH WOLLMUTH

VP – NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING

RIVER LANDING SOLUTIONS

Beth began working with River Landing Solutions in July of 2020. As owner of multiple marketing businesses, she has multi-faceted experience in marketing and tech services, as well as business development.

Beth understands the marketing industry and can offer a complete marketing analysis to enable businesses to achieve the most effective strategy for success.

Beth also has previous experience in the retail industry, with a focus on real estate, project management, merchandising, as well as order procurement with multi-million-dollar budgets, and employee hiring and management.

Beth is an active volunteer working with underserved communities and non-profit organizations. She also fosters animals from the local shelters when help is needed.

Beth graduated from Regis University in Colorado with a B.S. in Business Management.  She moved to Nashville in 1995 and enjoys the beautiful, growing city.

Beth enjoys spending time outside gardening, hiking, and traveling or spending time with her husband and two grown children and grandchild.

JESSE McKNIGHT

PRESIDENT LAND-USE STRATEGIES

WEST COAST PARTNER

Jesse has more than 20 years of experience in grassroots campaigns at the local, state and national levels. Prior to joining River Landing Solutions, Jesse was with Saint Consulting as their Executive Vice President for West Coast Operations. Before being promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations, he oversaw client engagements throughout the United States while managing a staff of 50 project managers.

Before Saint Consulting, he operated his own consulting and lobbying firm specializing in economic development at the county and municipal levels while also providing fundraising assistance at the national and state levels for various clients. From 1989 through 1997, Jesse served as State Director and as Campaign Director for United States Senator Wendell H. Ford (D-Kentucky).

Jesse’s depth of political organizing experience includes managing projects in more than 25 states. Jesse specializes in grassroots organizing, outcome engineering, communications, political consulting and project strategy. All of these areas of expertise are utilized by companies in retail, hospital, casino, quarry, energy and other industries.

Jesse received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from St.Mary’s College of California. He also attended the MIT-Harvard Public Dispute Resolution Program, University of California-Berkeley, and University of California-Davis CEQA CLE programs. He resides outside San Francisco with his wife and four children.

GREG O’BRIEN

OWNER

STONY BROOK GROUP

Greg O’Brien is the Editor and President of Stony Brook Group, a political, communications strategy and publishing company based in Brewster MA, on Cape Cod.

O’Brien, through Stony Brook Group, runs local, regional and national political and corporate communication strategy campaigns for a variety of purposes—from development permitting, to media consulting, to elections, community outreach, and marketing.  Over the years, his client base has included: Stop & Shop, New England Development, CVS, the Kraft Group, and others.

O’Brien also has more than 35 years of newspaper and magazine experience as a writer, editor, investigative reporter and publisher. Over the years, he has contributed, among other publications, to: the Associated Press, UPI, USA Today, Cape Cod Times, Huffington Post, Psychology Today, The Arizona Republic, Boston Herald American, Boston Herald, Boston Metro, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, Runner’s World, Reader’s Digest, Boston Metro, New York Metro, Philadelphia Metro, The Providence Journal, Boston Irish Reporter, and Boston Magazine where he was senior writer. He is former editor and publisher of The Cape Codder and Register newspapers, former editor of Cape Cod Life, and was a founding managing director of Community Newspaper Company, created by Fidelity Investments and now owned by Gatehouse Media, which owns/operates the Cape Cod Times, The Cape Codder, The Register and other Cape publications.

O’Brien is the editor/author of several books, has published more than a dozen books by other writers, and has been a contributor/consultant to National Public Radio (NPR), PBS/NOVA and other national media.