About Us
Our firm’s name is derived from the Kansas motto, Ad Astra per Aspera – to the stars through difficulty. The name aptly describes the spirit in which the partners approach the public policy goals of clients. No matter the challenges, they strategically deploy all of their expertise and efforts to achieve clients’ public policy aspirations.
Dodie Wellshear, Managing Partner
Dodie has decades of direct experience working on a broad and diverse range of public policy issues.
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Dodie is a Topeka native and is the founding partner of Ad Astra Government Relations. She began lobbying the Kansas Legislature in 1992 in the non-profit arena, working on children’s health, human service, and state appropriation issues. In 2002, she joined a private lobbying firm where she worked on a broader range of issues – including education, the Comprehensive Transportation Plan, health care, taxes, and animal cruelty – and continued building key relationships on both sides of the aisle in the Legislature and across Kansas. Having broadened her expertise and honed her strategic lobbying skills, she started her own government relations business in 2006.
Dodie focuses on health care, human services, taxation, and state budget and appropriations issues. She is passionate about strengthening the quality of life for all Kansans and making it the best place in the nation to live and raise a family.
Dodie is a graduate of the University of Kansas and is a proud Jayhawk basketball fan. She and her husband reside in Topeka, KS.