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Chris Wahl is an award-winning public affairs and public relations practitioner with 20 years of experience. He specializes in helping clients secure land-use and regulatory approvals for controversial projects and issues. Wahl also specializes in forming complex community coalitions of support and handling high profile media assignments, serving as a spokesperson for clients in times of crises.

Wahl played a role in helping San Diego Gas & Electric win regulatory approval of the company's $1.9 billion Sunrise Powerlink transmission line that will deliver renewable energy to San Diego County. Wahl also worked closely with Westfield Corporation to secure approval of the company's $900 million revitalization of the UTC shopping center. Both projects faced considerable opposition before ultimately being approved.

Wahl has won numerous awards and has been professionally recognized many times for his work. This includes three prestigious Silver Anvils, the highest distinction awarded by the Public Relations Society of America, more than a dozen Edward L. Bernays Awards, and two Education, Marketing and Promotion awards from the California Redevelopment Agency. In 2009, Wahl was named a "Mover to Watch" by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine. The same publication also named Wahl one the top 40 professionals in San Diego under forty years of age in 2005. In 2003, Wahl was honored for his work as a media spokesperson for a military software company victimized by terrorism in Kuwait. The story generated national media attention. During the crisis, Wahl was featured on CNN, the CBS Evening News and every major television station in San Diego.

Prior to Southwest Strategies, Wahl served as President of Wahl Associates, Inc. where he worked extensively with Unocal Corporation and Tosco Refining Company on the Central Coast. Before forming his own firm, Wahl worked as a Vice President for a prominent Southern California public affairs firm. Additionally, Wahl worked in the government relations department for the American Bankers Association in Washington, D.C.

Wahl is active in the community, volunteering for a number of local organizations and causes. He is a member of the San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and a committee member of the San Diego Bowl Association. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Chris spends his free time adoring his three kids, pretending to play golf, mixing in a long run and dreaming of the UCLA football Bruins winning the Rose Bowl.

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