The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently made two new hires, picking up Nate Gentry and Clint Williamson as professional staff members.

Gentry, 28, will handle water policy issues for the committee. He comes to the panel from Chairman Pete Domenici’s (R-N.M.) personal office, where he worked as a legislative aide handling Western water issues. Gentry began working for Domenici as a legislative correspondent in 1998.

The Algodones, N.M., native graduated in 2003 from the University of New Mexico law school and holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.

Williams, 32, will help handle nuclear power issues for the committee. He returns to Capitol Hill after a yearlong stint as director of legislative programs for the Nuclear Energy Institute. During his eight years on the Hill, Williamson worked as legislative director for Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), legislative assistant to Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and staff assistant to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).

Williamson holds a master’s degree in government from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s from Texas Tech University. He calls San Antonio his hometown.

Schumer’s Money Man. At the beginning of the month, Stephen Storch joined Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) staff as the office’s new legislative assistant for banking issues.

Storch, a six-year veteran of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee before leaving the Hill, came to Schumer’s office from the private sector, where he worked for the New York Stock Exchange, the Commodity Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and, most recently, as a vice president for Nasdaq. Storch, a native of New York City, holds a law degree from George Washington University and attended American University as an undergraduate.

Texas Three-Step. With two new hires and one promotion, Rep. Sam Johnson’s office (R-Texas) has seen a bit of movement from Lone Star State natives.

Coming aboard as Johnson’s new health policy adviser is Nikki Robinson, 25. Robinson comes to the office from her position with the American Health Quality Association and has had previous Hill experience working for Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.). She is a Vanderbilt University graduate who holds a degree in political science and hails from Ponder, Texas.

Moving up from staff assistant to executive assistant/scheduler is Ellie Mae Harrison, 21. Harrison, who began in Johnson’s office in January as an intern, graduated in December 2003 from Texas Tech University with degrees in French and Spanish. She calls Lubbock, Texas, her hometown.

Sarah Long, a former White House Office of Public Liaison intern, has been picked up as a new staff assistant for Johnson and will help answer constituent phone calls and process flag and tour requests. Long is a Houston native who also previously worked as a legislative aide for state Rep. Mary Denny (R). The University of Texas graduate holds a bachelor’s in government.