Aponté & Busam is a public affairs consulting firm providing high-quality public affairs services to a variety of clients in the health care, education, nonprofit, legal and business arenas. Founded in 1994, Aponté Busam Public Affairs has extensive experience providing exceptional service and obtaining results for their clients. Aponté Busam Public Affairs has a proven track record of success including legislative victories, relationship building with elected officials and advocacy training for clients, as well as media relations and campaign management. The firm represents a wide variety of clients and specializes in tailoring services to meet client needs. Aponté Busam Public Affairs also maintains active partnerships with House and Senate leadership, the Joint Budget Committee and the Polis Administration.
Edie Busam, President & CEO
Edie Busam has lobbied in Colorado for decades and is widely regarded as one of the state’s premier budget lobbyists. Her advocacy has secured millions of dollars annually to advance her clients’ priorities. She has worked on difficult insurance and healthcare issues along with reining in burdensome regulations for licensed facilities in the state. Before joining Aponté Busam Public Affairs, Edie led a Colorado healthcare manufacturing company and served as president of the Colorado Association of Medical Equipment Services, where she advocated for small healthcare service businesses. Edie is known for her exceptional communication and coalition-building skills. She has earned the trust and respect of legislators on both sides of the aisle and consistently builds bipartisan sponsorship and support for her clients’ legislative initiatives. She holds a degree in political science from Bowling Green State University and a degree in nursing from Miami University in Ohio.
To reach Edie email her at ebusam@aponte-busam.com
Iris Hentze, Director, Government Affairs
Iris brings fifteen years of experience navigating state public policy, government, politics and advocacy to the Aponté & Busam team. She advises clients on legislative, regulatory and budget strategy and leads the firm’s work in child health, child welfare and early childhood policy, while playing a senior role across the firm’s broader healthcare portfolio. Over the course of her career, Iris has developed deep expertise in complex healthcare policy and has successfully led client priorities involving Medicaid provider reimbursement, scope-of-practice issues, provider audits and other highly technical matters. Her work combines substantive policy knowledge with a strong understanding of the legislative and administrative processes that shape decision-making at the state level. Prior to joining Aponté & Busam, Iris served at the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF), where she advanced the agency’s legislative and budget priorities before the Colorado General Assembly. Earlier in her career, she worked as a nonpartisan policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), providing research and analysis to state legislators and legislative staff on healthcare workforce and regulatory policy.
To reach Iris email her at ihentze@aponte-busam.com
Emily Biniki, Senior Government Affairs Associate
Emily brings ten years of experience navigating state government, public policy, politics and advocacy to the Aponté & Busam team. She has been with the firm for seven years and serves as a senior member of the team advising clients across a broad range of issues, including healthcare, disability policy, nonprofit and business interests. Over the course of her career, Emily has developed strong bipartisan relationships and deep expertise in legislative strategy, policy development and stakeholder engagement, working closely with clients to navigate complex policy challenges and advance their priorities. She also plays a key role in client development and building long-term relationships with clients, policymakers and stakeholders. Emily brings a unique perspective to her advocacy work through four years of experience at a law firm, where she developed the ability to closely read and interpret legal and statutory language and understand the practical implications of complex legal frameworks. Prior to joining Aponté Busam Public Affairs, Emily served as a legislative aide, gaining firsthand experience navigating the legislative process and state government, and later spent a year as a healthcare policy reporter covering healthcare policy and legislative developments across Colorado, Utah, Texas and Arizona. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Denver.
To reach Emily email her at ebiniki@aponte-busam.com
Austin Fearn, Senior Government Affairs Associate and Elections Manager
Austin began his political career managing municipal campaigns in Littleton and Centennial before serving as a senior legislative aide and campaign manager for a state Representative. This experience provided him with a strong understanding of local government operations, municipal priorities, and the legislative process, which he now brings to his work, co-leading the Firm’s local government portfolio. Austin works directly with municipal leaders and local government coalitions on a broad range of issues, including transportation and infrastructure, housing and land use, taxation and revenue, and state-local relations. Austin has two degrees in mathematics and economics at Colorado State University, bringing strong financial and policy expertise to the Firm’s
budget and fiscal advocacy efforts.
To reach Austin email him at afearn@aponte-busam.com
Mahamoud Ahmed, Government Affairs Associate
Mahamoud Ahmed joined the Firm after serving as senior legislative aide to the Chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee. His portfolio includes child welfare and healthcare clients for which he spearheaded passage of the nation’s most comprehensive vaccine access legislation. This involved leading legislative strategy, stakeholder coordination, sponsor communications, amendment negotiations, and implementation planning after passage. He has also had experience lobbying for local government issue with Austin, most recently advocating for amendments on RTD reform legislation. Mahamoud holds a degree in Political Science from Colorado State University and is bilingual in Somali. He brings strong political insight, legislative strategy experience, and deep community engagement to his work.
To reach Mahamoud email him at mahmed@aponte-busam.com
Cindy Link, Administrative Director
Cindy brings over 35 years of detail, organization, and management experience to the firm. Her roles to support the team include schedule coordination, customer billing and contracting, event planning and overall operations management. Throughout her career, Cindy has placed a strong emphasis on customer service and thorough communication. She is very involved with her community’s Homeowners Association in Thornton, CO, and serves as the Treasurer of the Acequia Del Cerro Membership in her home town of Chama, Colorado. She has also taken on the responsibility of her father’s caregiver. Cindy is a native Coloradan hailing from the San Luis Valley and is fluent in Spanish.
To reach Cindy email her at clink@aponte-busam.com
