John Nikoloff - Partner
john@pa-erg.com
John Nikoloff is President of John Nikoloff & Associates, a Harrisburg based public affairs firm.  From 2004-2006 he served as Executive Vice President of the Green Oil Company, a Pennsylvania-based biolubricants firm and is currently president of a feedstock oil and biodiesel company.

Nikoloff has more than 35 years of experience in agribusiness, government, and public affairs.  Before founding a regional public affairs/strategic consulting firm representing Fortune 100 companies, he served as chief of staff for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.  Mr. Nikoloff is known for his success in regulatory, legislative, policy and procurement issues with state and federal governments, and as one of the nation’s top agribusiness lobbyists.

He has represented dozens of corporations and trade associations, including Crop Life America (the agricultural chemical, seed and biotech industry), RISE (the specialty fertilizer and pesticide industry), Syngenta, Dairy Farmers of America, Land O’Lakes and other agribusiness operations and associations.  His other clients included Mobil Oil, Procter & Gamble, Kodak, Motorola, UPS and MBNA.

Tracy Wingenroth - Partner
tracy@pa-erg.com
Tracy Wingenroth is a partner in Energy Resources Group. She is also the Chief Operating Officer of McFarren & Associates, serving as the managing partner for the Harrisburg-based public affairs firm. She has been recognized for her skills in government relations, communications and state procurement.

Ms. Wingenroth has secured more than $50 million in economic development, budget and capital budget financing for her clients in the past five years.

She has successfully lobbied issues including transportation funding, tax reform, consumer protection, energy, homeland security and emergency management in both Harrisburg and Washington. Tracy negotiated the only tort reform measure to emerge from the state's 2005-2006 legislative session.

She coordinates state budget and financing programs for clients' economic development projects which are partially funded by the Commonwealth. An expert in financial and budget analyses, she has done extensive research on the use of state regulatory, tax and business incentives used to stimulate economic development and job creation.

Working in cooperation with clients, Ms. Wingenroth plays an essential role in formulating strategic planning processes, business expansion opportunities and policy development. She has successfully led public and community relations outreach efforts that have saved dozens of Pennsylvania businesses millions of dollars.

Tracy is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Government Relations.

Phillip D. McFarren - Partner
phil@pa-erg.com
Philip D. McFarren is a partner in Energy Resources Group. He also serves as president of McFarren & Associates, a firm which provides business consulting and government relations services to select blue chip clients. Mr. McFarren served 30 years with USX Corporation as a specialist in legislative affairs and state and local taxes. He has broad experience and technical expertise in a variety of fields critical to alternative energy and the manufacturing and transportation industries, including tax compliance, environmental legislation and regulation, employee benefits, transportation infrastructure funding and business/government financing. While with USX, McFarren spearheaded the first successful reform in over 20 years of Pennsylvania's Unemployment Compensation System, rescuing the Pennsylvania system from bankruptcy.

Mr. McFarren helped create and was the first Executive Director of the Keystone State Railroad Association, composed of Class I, short line and regional railroads in Pennsylvania, after negotiating the repeal of the state's gross receipt tax on railroads. The Association developed a multi-million dollar annual program to upgrade rail infrastructure to better serve customers and improve safety. His clients have included Genesee & Wyoming Railroad, Ford Motor Company, Canadian National Railway, Koppers, Duke Energy, Canadian Pacific Railway and Union Switch & Signal.

A nationally recognized specialist in the evaluation of government expenditure and revenue patterns, McFarren has an extensive background in tax compliance audits, tax litigation and tax financing policy legislation. He has successfully coordinated major reform efforts in several states. He is a member of numerous state and local trade organizations and committees, including the Pennsylvania chamber of Business and Industry and is a Life Member of the Pennsylvania Society.

Melissa Britcher - Associate
melissa@pa-erg.com
Melissa Britcher is an Associate with Energy Resources Group. She brings broad set of skills and experiences in communications, graphic design, the legislative arena, and alternative energy to the firm. Britcher also plays a significant role with the McFarren & Associates.

Britcher brings several years of communications and writing experience to the firm, and will be instrumental in establishing the public relations and marketing needs of both ERG and McFarren & Associates.

Previous to her appointment at McFarren, Britcher was Public Relations Director for a three-state insurance association. She also spent two years as a Public Relations Coordinator in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, managing media and public relations needs for several state House members. While at the House, she also served as staff for the House Bipartisan Alternative Energy Caucus.

In addition, she has served as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer and columnist for several weekly and daily newspapers, and in 2003 and 2004, worked in Human Resources for the Retail Banking division of Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco Bay Region.

Currently, she is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, and is the Public Relations Coordinator for the 25x'25 Pennsylvania Alliance, promoting increased use of agriculture and biomass for energy production.

Britcher received her B.A. degree from Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA.