With numerous staff changes, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) has altered the chemical composition of the policy laboratory that is the House Science Committee.
“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to hire qualified new staff, while also promoting some of our most talented staff from within the committee,” Boehlert said. “I am sad to see some of my friends leave who have been a part of my staff for many years, but I’m also proud of them and know that they are going to accomplish many good things in their new roles.”
Formerly a legislative assistant to Boehlert, Sara Gray takes over as chief counsel for the Science Committee. She replaces Mike Bloomquist, who recently accepted a position with the Energy and Commerce Committee. Prior to joining the committee staff, Gray worked as an attorney in Portland, Ore., and she also has worked on the staff of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Gray graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1992 and earned her J.D. from Cornell Law School in 2003.
Amy Carroll has been promoted to director of the subcommittee on environment, technology and standards, where she previously served as a professional staff member and designee. Carroll got her start with the Science Committee through a Congressional fellowship sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology. A 1996 graduate of Notre Dame with degrees in biochemistry and environmental science, Carroll earned her doctorate in environmental microbiology from Cornell University in 2002. Eric Webster, the outgoing director, becomes director of legislative affairs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Elizabeth Grossman, a former program officer at the National Academy of Sciences, has replaced Dan Byers as staff director of the subcommittee on research, where she served as a professional staff member. Grossman is a 1992 graduate of Swarthmore College, where she double majored in physics and mathematics. In 1997, she earned her Ph.D. in computational physics from the University of Chicago. Byers joins the White House as the deputy chief of staff for its Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Mike Holland has joined the subcommittee on energy as a professional staff member and designee to subcommittee Chairwoman Judy Biggert (R-Ill.). Prior to joining the subcommittee staff, Holland worked for the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Holland graduated from North Carolina State University in 1989 with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and electrical engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998.
Replacing Chris Shank as a professional staff member of the subcommittee on space and aeronautics is Tind Shepper Ryen, who previously worked at the University of Colorado’s Center for Science, Policy and Outcomes. Ryen graduated in 2001 from Princeton University with a degree in astrophysical studies and is scheduled to complete his master’s in environmental studies from the University of Colorado this December. Shank will assume the role of special assistant to NASA Administrator Mike Griffin.
As she pursues her master’s in political management at George Washington University, Rachel Jagoda-Brunette will serve as staff assistant to the subcommittee on research. Prior to this assignment, Jagoda-Brunette had been staff assistant to the full committee. Jagoda-Brunette is a 2003 graduate of Georgetown University, where she majored in physics.
Filling Jagoda-Brunette’s old position is Devin Bryant, who had been interning for the subcommittee on space and aeronautics. In his new role Bryant will track correspondence and oversee the office’s daily administrative functions. A 2004 graduate of Redlands University, Bryant received a bachelor’s in space policy.
