Meet The Team

Rhett Dawson

Senior Advisor

Rhett joined Ervin Graves after 15 years as president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council. At ITI he recruited skilled board leaders from the technology industry, built the organization’s staff and created successful, high functioning collaborations among companies and associations in Washington and around the world.

During his years in the Reagan White House, Rhett was Assistant to the President for Operations. In addition, Rhett was a key member of the late Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker’s team that assisted in President Reagan’s comeback following the revelations of the Iran-Contra Scandal.

Just prior to joining the White House staff, Rhett was Director of the President’s Special Review Board whose report detailed findings in the wake of the Iran-Contra affair.

He has twice in his career been a partner in Washington law firms, assisting clients with various federal matters. Rhett took a leave of absence from law practice at Chairman David Packard’s request to be the Executive Director of the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management. Under his leadership, the report and recommendations produced from the Commission still serve as a framework for much of how the Pentagon is organized and operates still today.