our Team
AMY THOMA TAN
MANAGING PARTNER
Amy Thoma Tan is an experienced strategist with nearly 20 years of experience at the intersection of communications, politics and public affairs. She has created strategic campaigns for individuals and organizations large and small, leveraging traditional and digital media, advertising, grassroots and other tools.
Amy has led crisis communications, litigation communications, advocacy and reputation management for California’s two largest healthcare systems.
During her career in California politics, Amy has led communications, media relations and social media for a variety of corporate, nonprofit, association and government clients. She also built and managed coalitions and led communications strategy for statewide and local ballot initiative and issue advocacy campaigns. Amy also worked in senior communications roles in the California State Legislature and in the Secretary of State.
As a trusted source and frequent spokesperson, Amy has been quoted by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CalMatters, Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, Kaiser Health News, Politico, the Sacramento Bee and others.
Amy has a degree in Political Science from UCLA. She lives in Sacramento with her family and is on the board of directors for Fairytale Town and the Sacramento Children’s Home.
ALLEN YOUNG
VICE PRESIDENT
Allen Young is Vice President at Cobalt Public Affairs. He previously served as a press secretary for two California attorneys general and a state senator.
As press secretary for then-Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Allen led communications strategy on environmental protection, consumer rights and antitrust enforcement. His portfolio included natural resources protection, online privacy and data security.
Allen also worked as a political journalist based in Sacramento. Most recently, he served as interim host of “Insight,” the flagship public affairs talk show on CapRadio, Sacramento’s NPR affiliate. His reporting has appeared in The Daily Beast, The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Business Journal and The Washington Post.
Allen lives in Sacramento with his wife, Lily, and their two young daughters.
NOAH Sasaki
ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR
Noah Sasaki is an Account Supervisor at Cobalt Public Affairs, where he supports clients with strategic storytelling and multimedia communications. He previously worked as a digital producer at KJZZ, the flagship NPR station in Phoenix, and with the Arizona PBS/Cronkite News Sports Bureau. Most recently, he served as a marketing coordinator, where he led digital communications and production. He brings experience in writing, design, photography, videography, and social media strategy. Noah holds an M.A. in Sports Journalism from Arizona State University.
Jamarah Hayner
Senior Advisor, Los Angeles Office
Jamarah Hayner brings twenty years of experience in political strategy, strategic communications, community engagement, and public affairs. She advises clients on navigating complex political and regulatory environments while building strong relationships with elected officials, community leaders, businesses, and other key stakeholders throughout Southern California.
Throughout her career, Jamarah has worked on the campaigns and in the administrations of some of the nation’s most prominent elected officials, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, California Governor Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. She has also worked closely with several offices on the Los Angeles City Council and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, giving her a deep understanding of state and local government, regional political dynamics, and the decision-making processes that shape public policy in Los Angeles and across California.
Jamarah has led community engagement, stakeholder outreach, and inclusivity efforts for more than $13 billion in major infrastructure projects. Her work has focused on ensuring that communities, businesses, labor organizations, and historically underrepresented stakeholders have meaningful opportunities to participate in projects that affect their neighborhoods and economic futures. She has also advised California businesses, hospitals, affordable housing organizations, and economic empowerment initiatives on communications, coalition building, public engagement, and government relations strategies.
Evan Harris
Strategic SUPERVISOR
Evan Harris brings more than a decade of experience building and executing communications programs for regional and national health care systems, hospital associations, and health policy organizations in complex, high-stakes environments where clinical, financial, and political interests intersect. Much of Evan’s healthcare work centered on moments when a system’s reputation, finances, and mission were all on the line. He’s led earned media and strategic communications through payor/provider contract negotiations, advised academic health systems through crisis situations, and guided systems through multi-state mergers and acquisitions — from initial letters of intent through Hart-Scott-Rodino review, public hearings, and final approval — including employee engagement and leadership integration work after deals closed. That same instinct for aligning message and strategy carried into his public affairs work, where Evan ran grassroots advocacy and legislative communications campaigns for hospital associations and health systems facing funding fights, union issues, and reputational pressure in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Indiana, and California. This included internal communications, executive thought leadership, and board-level counsel to keep an organization’s story consistent from the inside out, alongside lawmaker education campaigns showcasing each system’s mission, vision, and community impact.
