Patrick Fox is the author of Mastering Land Use Politics: Dealing with NIMBYs, YIMBYs, and Covert Operatives (2025) and NIMBY Wars: The Politics of Land Use. Widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading experts on the politics of land use and development, he has spent more than 30 years helping clients win high-stakes, high-conflict battles over zoning, permitting, licensing, ballot measures, and regulatory approvals—often in the face of organized local opposition.
As CEO of Consensus Strategies, Patrick blends political intelligence and ground-level organizing to deliver strategic victories in the most politically sensitive and heavily scrutinized environments. His campaigns have not only secured approvals for complex and controversial projects but also protected market share for clients by opposing competing developments. He is known for countering misinformation, building public support, and navigating NIMBY, YIMBY, and BANANA dynamics with precision.
In addition to his land use work, Patrick leads major survey research initiatives for corporate, academic, and government institutions in more than 30 countries, providing data-driven insights that shape strategy, policy, and public engagement.
Patrick’s speaking credits include the MIT Center for Real Estate’s Winning Community Support for Real Estate Projectsseminar, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), American Gas Association (AGA), National Mining Association (NMA), Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), AFL-CIO, and more. He has also advised Japanese business leaders on gaming development in Yokohama and served on an Urban Land Institute Advisory Panel.
He earned his MBA from Northeastern University and completed executive programs at Harvard, MIT, and Harvard Business School. His career includes managing a U.S. Congressional office, working on over 100 political campaigns, and accumulating more airline miles than he cares to count.
Owen Eagan specializes in developing community outreach programs for Fortune 500 companies. He has worked on more than a hundred political campaigns, including a successful ballot initiative for the $5 billion rail transit proposal in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the author of So What?: Measuring and Assessing Strategic Communications in Land Use Politics, which describes a management consulting firm’s approach to winning political campaigns and has been hailed as one of the best business books on politics by industry, political, communications and academic leaders.
He received a BA from Clark University, an MA from Emerson College and an MBA from Pepperdine University. He also attended the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program and the University of California-Berkeley CEQA CLE program.
In addition, Owen is currently an Executive-in-Residence at Emerson College, the nation’s only four-year institution dedicated exclusively to the study of communication and the performing arts, and is certified in Social & Behavioral Research by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative.
His commentary and research have appeared in leading industry and academic publications including Campaigns & Elections magazine, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and International Business Times. He has also served for several years as a judge for the American Association of Political Consultants’ prestigious Pollie Awards, which honor excellence in the practice of political communication.
An internationally recognized leader in the field of survey research and data analysis, Spencer directs survey research operations and oversees the design, execution and analysis of all survey, polling and research projects. With innovative methods adapted to maintain accuracy and penetrating research depth, his projects have spanned the globe for major universities, institutes, candidates, media outlets and leading international organizations.
Director of Emerson College Polling and an advisor for the Emerson College Polling Society, Spencer is also the author of Survey Says?: A Practitioners Guide to Public Opinion Polling. His extensive research on Survey Methodology and the testing of data collection methods has been published in top tier journals and presented at conferences and workshops around the globe. A member of the Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), Spencer is the former president of the New England Chapter (NEAAPOR) and provides regular commentary and analysis for media outlets including MSNBC, Fox News, Harpers, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Washington Post, National Journal, National Public Radio (NPR) and numerous others.
Born and raised in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood, Nolan’s experience in politics and community organizing began as soon as he could walk the streets of that politically charged and tight knit community. Work followed on a myriad of hotly contested city council, legislative and mayoral races in communities where elections were won or lost on the streets. In conjunction with a prominent Boston law firm, Nolan used his strategic knowledge and political skills to build support for countless controversial commercial and residential real estate development projects throughout New England before joining Saint Consulting as a senior field coordinator and working on projects across the United States. With political street smarts, diligent execution, and advanced technical and digital skills, Nolan excels at building powerful coalitions and delivering results.
Nolan worked with political legend and author Gerard Doherty on research and editing for his book They Were My Friends: Jack, Bob and Ted, My Life in and out of Politics.
Nolan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a proud member of the Knights of Columbus Council #62, Teamsters Local 25 and the Bunker Hill Associates, a Charlestown based non-profit organization that works with the community raising funds for local civic organizations, scholarships and youth groups.
Jarrod is an accomplished classical musician, marathon runner, and old book enthusiast.