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Who’s Who Where – May 2026

Who’s Who Where – May 2026

May 2026

Stay up to date on the latest public affairs career moves as professionals transition into new leadership roles and opportunities. Here are the most recent updates.

Christie Bloomquist, formerly vice president of U.S. strategy and government affairs, Astellas Pharma; now senior vice president of corporate affairs, U.S. Human Pharma, and president, Boehringer Cares Foundation, Boehringer Ingelheim

Ashley Chavous, formerly of counsel, Covington & Burling; now partner, Holland & Knight

Kathleen Coulombe, formerly senior vice president of federal relations, American Council of Life Insurers; now chief advocacy officer, America’s Credit Unions

Natalie D’Apolito, formerly communications and outreach manager, American Cleaning Institute; now communications manager, Consumer Brands Association

Matthew Fontenot, formerly legislative assistant, Office of Speaker Mike Johnson; now director of government relations, National Association of Manufacturers

Alexis Gurganious, formerly government affairs manager, Cox Enterprises; now vice president of government affairs and PAC, Structured Finance Association

Sara Hinkle, formerly associate attorney, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth; now senior counsel for federal regulatory affairs, NBCUniversal

Rachael Houston-Carter, formerly senior manager of federal government affairs, Accenture; now senior manager, public policy team, Amazon

Alysa James, formerly senior director, Penta Group; now vice president of communications, End Citizens United

Igor Kleyman, formerly head of responsible AI governance, Amazon; now partner, financial institutions practice, Cleary Gottlieb

Leah Kovach, formerly American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons; now government affairs assistant, National Association of Specialty Pharmacy

Sam Lopez, formerly chief revenue officer and PAC director, New York State Trial Lawyers Association; now senior manager of PAC and political operations, National Association of Manufacturers

Amy McConkey, formerly director of state affairs, UNC Chapel Hill; now senior director of state affairs, Consumer Brands Association

Matt Naugle, formerly managed strategic communications, Stand Together; now director, Narrative Strategies

Jake Oster, formerly director of energy, environment and sustainability policy, Amazon; now vice president of sustainability policy and community relations, Oracle

Channing Pejic, formerly senior director of political programs, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors; now advocacy fundraising director, National Restaurant Association

Emory Roberts, formerly senior director of association and advocacy partnerships, POLITICO; now vice president of political and advocacy, TelevisaUnivision

Kurt Schaubach, formerly CTO, Federated Wireless; now senior vice president and chief technology officer, CTIA

Akiva Shapiro, formerly partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher; now managing partner and chair, New York law and regulatory litigation practice group, Holtzman Vogel

Alicia Smith, formerly senior policy counsel, cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; now of counsel, government affairs and public policy practice, DLA Piper

Elizabeth Schwartz, formerly executive director of U.S. policy and government relations, Merck; now senior vice president and head of government relations, Federation of American Hospitals

Petrina Thomas, formerly member services director, House Financial Services Democratic staff for Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.); now federal government relations manager, Zillow

Preston Wise, formerly vice president for state policy, Comcast; now senior vice president of external and state affairs, CTIA

Daniel Wu, formerly director of global affairs, Agoda; now executive director, AI and data policy, Asia Pacific, JPMorgan Chase

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