Lobbying

Lobbying World

• A Capitol Hill aide is heading to the financial services firm Franklin Square Capital Partners, to expand its Washington footprint. Erica Elliott, named vice president of public affairs, has served as an advisor to Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), a member of the House Banking Committee. She later worked as a communications director in Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) leadership office. 

 • Squire Patton Boggs hired Patricia Doersch as “of counsel” in its Washington office. She comes from the American Public Transportation Association, where she served as legislative counsel. Before that, Doersch worked on a House Transportation subcommittee and she helped craft the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act, which created the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Earlier in her career, Doersch served as an attorney at the Federal Highway Administration.

• Kelley Drye & Warren snagged Michael E. Williams from Barnes & Thornburg. Williams has been named as a senior advisor in the government contracts, government relations and public policy groups, specializing in defense, appropriations, homeland security and financial services policy issues. In addition to also working at Greenberg Traurig, Williams spent 25 years on Capitol Hill and comes armed with a bipartisan Rolodex.

• Cesar Conda, who formerly served as chief of staff to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), returned to Navigators Global, a firm he helped found in 2003. Conda has been a senior staffer to Rubio since 2011. He also worked on Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential run, served as an advisor to Vice President Cheney and, prior to those roles, spent almost two decades as a congressional aide. Conda comes back to Navigators Global as a founding partner and policy advisor.

• Michael Shank, who served as the associate director of legislative affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation — a Quaker lobbying group — is joining Climate Nexus. Shank’s new title will be the director of media strategy for the group, which advocates for clean energy. Prior to working in the private sector, Shank spent four years with Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.).