Jeffords’ Pensions Adviser Jumps to House
While a number of Sen. Jim Jeffords’ (I) staff have remained in the Vermonter’s office following his recent party switch, one aide has jumped to the House.
Kathleen Quint Black, who teamed up with Jeffords in March 2000 and served as pension policy adviser to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which Jeffords formerly chaired, moved to Rep. Sam Johnson’s (R-Texas) office in June.
“As a Republican, I’m disappointed that Kathleen had to leave her last employer. I’m delighted to have her join my office,” Johnson said in a statement. Black, 38, will serve as a senior legislative assistant on tax issues.
She began her Congressional career in 1991 in the office of then Rep. Fred Grandy (R-Iowa), working as a legislative assistant before being promoted to legislative director. After spending four years in the private sector as legislative director for the law firm McDermott, Will & Emery, Black returned to Capitol Hill in 1999 as a legislative assistant for the late Sen. John Chafee
(R-R.I.) and then his son, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.).
Black lived in several cities in her youth and graduated from high school in Iowa. However, she considers Washington, D.C., her hometown.
A member of George Washington University’s class of 1987, she has a bachelor’s in international business.
CHUCK WAGON ROLLS IN: Chuck Ludlam returns to the Hill after an seven-year hiatus in the private sector to serve as economic counsel in Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (D-Conn.) office.
The San Marino, Calif., native left his post as vice president for government relations at the D.C.-based Biotechnology Industry Organization.
Before entering the private sector, Ludlam spent nine years as chief tax counsel to the Senate Small Business Committee. He served for two years on then President Jimmy Carter’s domestic policy staff as legal counsel, leaving in 1981 to become assistant to the chairman of the Joint Economic Committee.
Ludlam, 56, has also done stints as a trial lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission and as counsel to a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
After earning a bachelor’s in history fromStanford University in 1967, Ludlam spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1972.
ADIEU, ABERNATHY: After more than two decades as chief of staff for Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), Cathy Abernathy has left the office to work as a consultant for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Abernathy, 49, who has a 1972 bachelor’s in speech from the University of California at Los Angeles, has worked alongside Thomas for most of her career.
The Bakersfield, Calif., native served in the California Legislature for four years before signing on with Thomas’ first Congressional campaign. In 1979 she became his chief of staff, then in 1997 she was given the additional title of staff director for the House Administration Committee, which Thomas chaired at the time.
THREE’S COMPANY: While Thomas has lost a longtime aide in his personal office, he has added three new staffers to his committee, where the Ways and Means press offices has introduced its new media handlers.
Barbara Clay joined the office in June as director of communications, a position she held for eight years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Clay, 47, began as an intern in the Office of Management and Budget in 1982 and moved up the ranks to become press secretary to the director before leaving in 1990 for a job as director of public affairs at the Treasury Department.
This isn’t Clay’s Capitol Hill debut, though. She was an intern in the office of the late Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.) in 1982.
Clay hails from Southhold, N.Y., and has a 1979 bachelor’s in theater from the State University of New York at Oneonta. She also studied public administration at George Washington University.
Christin Tinsworth, who will serve as deputy director of communications, is the newest addition to Thomas’ committee staff.
Tinsworth, 28, most recently served as the communications director for Rep. Anne Northup (R-Ky.). She joined Northup’s staff in March 2000, following a yearlong stint as press secretary for Citizens for a Sound Economy, a group that lobbies for lower tax rates in 15 states.
Hailing from Bradenton, Fla., Tinsworth began her career as a legislative assistant for her Congressman, Rep. Dan Miller (R-Fla.), in 1997 before being bumped up to to press secretary.
The Vanderbilt University alumna coordinated press for Rep. Dennis Hastert’s
(R-Ill.) transition to Speaker in January 1999 and also assisted with media coverage at the Republican National Convention last July.
She earned a bachelor’s in political science and human and organizational development in 1993.
Mark Gundersen, a native of College Park, Md., was named press secretary in late May. Until recently, the 30-year-old served as manager of media relations and spokesman on daily market activity for Nasdaq. Previously, he was a senior account executive for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.
A 1993 graduate of George Washington University, he has a bachelor’s in sports management in addition to a 1994 master’s in management from the University of Kentucky.
Although the three haven’t crossed paths before, Tinsworth said, “We’re working together now like we’ve been working together for years.”
ALASKAN ADDITIONS: Dave Russell, legislative counsel to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), will take over as the office’s legislative director.
From Anchorage, Alaska, Russell joined the office in 1997 as a legislative assistant after receiving a degree from Boston University School of Law. He was promoted to legislative counsel in 2000. The 30-year-old earned a bachelor’s in English from the University of Washington in 1994.
His experience includes a 1996 internship in the office of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
Sitka, Alaska, native Matt Paxton, 27, joins the staff as legislative assistant on surface transportation, environment and pollution control.
Paxton received a law degree from Willamette University’s College of Law in 2001 and a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Washington in 1997.
He completed an internship with the Oregon Legislature in 1999.
