Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Erin Niemela

72. Erin Niemela

Erin Niemela and her business partner Emily Pappas head one of the Capitol’s few entirely female-owned lobbying shops, Niemela, Pappas and Associates, whose clients include corporate luminaries like eBay, HP, Indeed, Land O’Lakes, Mattel, PayPal, Salesforce, Sony Pictures, Spotify, StubHub and Union Pacific Railroads. But Niemela also doesn’t just rep big corporations. Last year she piloted three significant “make polluters pay” bills into law, which certainly has not endeared her to some of the Big Oil folks on this list. What was it Jerry Brown said about paddling a canoe? You get it. A consummate pro, Niemela manages to be a fierce advocate without sacrificing her integrity. Like so many of the best lobbyists out there, she prefers to keep a low profile. But insiders know she brings serious chops to any negotiation, and hers is regularly one of the top grossing firms in the Capitol community. She learned the Capitol during her many years as a staffer for the likes of former Assemblymember Tom Bates and Speaker Willie Brown, and was Chief of Staff to former Senate pro Tem Don Perata for over a decade.

Updated Aug. 26, 2025