Brandon Macsata serves as Managing Partner of The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc. – a national political and public affairs consulting firm specializing in grassroots media campaigns and political fundraising. He is widely recognized for ability to connect national, state and local stakeholders interested in influencing public policy and the political process. Macsata has extensive experience working with political candidates, national and statewide trade associations, and other corporate entities.
The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc. provides professional consultation on political strategies, public policy, communications & marketing strategies and media relations. The firm also offers grassroots advocacy training to better exchange organizations in the legislative process. Starting in January 2005, The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc. also started its fundraising activities for political candidates, political action committees, trade associations and non-profits.
First diagnosed as HIV-positive in March 2002, Macsata has dedicated much of his professional and personal life advocating for persons living with HIV/AIDS. He currently serves as CEO of the ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+), a national non-profit organization working to improve the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. From November 2003 to March 2006, he authored a weekly news column on national HIV-related stories for The Weekly News in Miami, Florida. He is also a former ADAP recipient.
He also serves as Executive Director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR), and General Consultant to the US Business Leadership Network.
Macsata formerly served as the Executive Director of the American Congress of Community Support & Employment Services (ACCSES), a national trade association representing the interests of community, non-profit agencies providing supports and services to persons with disabilities. During his tenure with ACCSES, he served on the NISH Board of Directors and co-chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Fiscal Policy Task Force.
Prior to moving to Washington, DC in 2000, he opened a 100-bed assisted living care facility in Wilmington, North Carolina. Serving as the facility’s assistant administrator, Macsata worked closely with families, community leaders and state agencies to advocate for seniors.
In his current capacity as Managing Partner of The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc., Macsata has worked with the Disability Service Providers of American (DSPA), ACCSES-DSPA Alliance (now ‘ACCSES’), US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®), One Percent Coalition, CCDH (formerly Community Committee for the Developmentally Handicapped), Brevard Achievement Center, ARC Broward, UCP of East-Central Florida/WORC, MACtown, Title II Community AIDS National Network (TIICANN), Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, RESPECT of Florida and United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD).
Macsata’s passion for improving the lives of persons with disabilities started with his association with Carolina Canines for Service, Inc., a non-profit organization that trains and places service dogs at no cost to the recipient. In 1999-2000 he served as the President of their Board of Directors.
Macsata has advised candidates for political office, and has also run for office himself at the local and national levels. In 1995, he was just 79 votes short of beating a 22-year incumbent and becoming the youngest person ever elected in the State of North Carolina. In 2000, he formed an exploratory committee to run for the U.S. House of Representatives before ultimately deciding against running for that office. He is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in political science.
As the executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR), as well as a passenger who has personally experienced just about every security screening technique employed by our federal government — including enhanced full-body scanners and aggressive pat-downs, to name a few – I feel compelled to address the recent TSA flap.
Just prior to the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel weekend, AAPR took a strong public stand against the security measures being used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which we would like to further explain. AAPR concluded that the enhanced full-body scanners and aggressive pat-downs, among other things, violate privacy rights protected by the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment (scanners and pat-downs), pose potential medical risks to passengers (scanners) and divert limited manpower and resources from other more effective security screening measures. AAPR’s position was fortified when TSA Administrator John S. Pistole brushed aside the legitimate concerns expressed over privacy rights by defending his agency with belittling statements towards groups like AAPR. The arrogance of TSA led AAPR to support the National Opt-Out Day. It is a decision that we stand behind!
Ask yourself this simple question: Would you deem it acceptable if, when walking down the street in your hometown of Washington, DC, you were randomly stopped by law enforcement and told that you had to undergo a pat-down or strip search? What would your reaction be if, when asked why, law enforcement responded that it was to ensure the “safety and security” of the community and the people around you? Fortunately for us, it would never happen in the United States, at least not without probable cause by law enforcement. Why? Because those are the rights afforded to people in the United States — regardless of their citizenship — under the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.
So it begs the question, why is it acceptable for TSA to engage in the very same practice, all under the guise of protecting the safety and security of the flying public? The answer is simple: It is NOT acceptable! And according to Zogby International, 61% of likely voters oppose TSA’s new security measures, while 48% said they would probably seek alternatives to flying. Is this an issue where the U.S. airline industry and passengers can agree?
Interestingly enough, only the government and the companies manufacturing the enhanced full-body scanners seem to be supportive of the security screenings. Joining the chorus behind airline passenger rights groups has been the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), unions representing airline pilots and flight attendants, disability rights organizations and others groups. Further evidence that TSA is taking the wrong approach is the mere fact that far-right conservatives and extreme-left liberals are singing the same tune against the security screenings.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.”
Apparently, members of Congress agree with our founding fathers, as they are lining up against TSA’s new security measures. On November 18th, Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (TN-2) told the Knoxville News Sentinel, “The American people should not have to choose between having full-body radiation or a very embarrassing, intrusive pat-down every time they fly, as if they were criminals.” Rep. Duncan also called into question the lucrative nature of the contracts being secured by some of the private companies represented by former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
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