Freshman Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) has his office up and running.

Lillian Pace, 26, is legislative director in the office. Before joining Yarmuth’s team, Pace worked for Rep. Marion Berry (D-Ark.) from 2005 to 2006, Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) from 2004 to 2005, and Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) from 2002 to 2004. [IMGCAP(1)]

A 2002 graduate of Washington & Lee University, Pace earned a master’s degree in public policy from The George Washington University in 2005. She is from Alexandria, Va.

Stuart Perelmuter, 27, will serve as the office’s press secretary. He previously worked as the communications director for Yarmuth for Congress.

Perelmuter also is a screenwriter and playwright.

From Louisville, Ky., Perelmuter earned his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in 2002.

Working as a legislative aide in the office is Caroline Cowan. She previously worked for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and for the Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign.

A 2004 graduate of Kenyon College, Cowan is from Louisville, Ky.

Ashley Bromagen is a legislative aide in the office.

Before assuming her new job, Bromagen worked as a legislative correspondent for Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) since 2006. Before that, she was an intern for the House Science Committee. She also taught English in Spain from 2004 to 2005.

From Versailles, Ky., Bromagen earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and political science from Tulane University in 2004.

Finally, Keidra King, 24, will work as an executive assistant in the office. She previously worked as a field coordinator for Yarmuth for Congress and as a caseworker for the Society for the Advancement of Reforming Felons Inc.

A native of Louisville, Ky., King graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 2005.

Lineup Changes for Maloney. There is no baloney going on in Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s (D-N.Y.) office. She recently has hired two new staffers and promoted two others.

New to the office as scheduler and executive assistant is Kristina Spiegel.

Before joining Maloney’s team, Spiegel worked as a field coordinator for Maryland Coordinated Campaign 2006. In addition, she worked as an associate at Potomac Partners DC and as an intern for Maloney during 2006.

The 26-year-old just graduated in December from Texas Tech University with a degree in political science.

“I waited a couple of years before going to college so that I could figure out what I really wanted from the experience,” Spiegel wrote in an e-mail. “Although, I’m slightly older than some of my peers at this stage in my career (I’m teased relentlessly!), I’m relieved I waited and fully embraced my education and subsequent commitment to the world of politics and public policy.”

Spiegel is a native of Houston.

Also new to the office as a staff assistant and systems administrator is Linda Forman, 22.

Forman, who just graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in women’s studies, held many jobs while in college. From 2004 until graduation, she worked as a resident assistant in the multicultural dorm. During the summer of 2006, she worked as marketing coordinator at an indoor and outdoor golf facility. During the first part of 2006, she was a legislative intern in Maloney’s office. She also worked customer service at a newspaper, front desk at a hotel and as a camp counselor, in addition to being involved with much political activism on campus.

While Forman said she has officially graduated, she is still waiting for the proof.

“[I’m] still awaiting my diploma,” she wrote in an e-mail. “[I] came to D.C. less than 2 weeks after my last semester at UMass but still had to take [an] on-line winter course.”

She also wrote that she is “still looking for a place to live.” So, if any of you Hill Climbers readers have any tips, send them her way.

Forman is from Brockton, Mass.

Moving up in the office is Anna Cielinski, 27.

Cielinski, who previously worked as a legislative correspondent and as a scheduler for Maloney since 2003, will now work as the office’s legislative assistant.

Before coming to Maloney’s office, Cielinski was an intern for Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) in 2002.

From DePere, Wis., Cielinski graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2002.

Finally, Elizabeth Down, 23, is climbing the office ladder as well. Having previously worked as a scheduler, executive assistant and staff assistant in the office since 2005, Down will now work as a legislative correspondent.

Down also is the office’s gourmand.

“I love to cook, and throw fabulous dinner parties whenever possible,” she wrote in an e-mail. “I am really into restaurants as well, and friends in other congressional offices sometimes ask me for restaurant recommendations for their bosses. So far, my track record has been good!”

Down, a Red Sox fan, also wrote that she is “really glad that Carolyn supports the Mets and not the Yankees.”

The Winchester, Mass., native is a 2005 graduate of Columbia University.

Gingrey Hires Two. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) has added two new staffers to his office: Sean Dalton and J.D. Easley.

Dalton, 34, will serve as chief of staff in the office.

Prior to assuming the office’s top position, Dalton was the chief of staff for then-Rep. Charles Taylor (R-N.C.) since 2004. From 2002 to 2004, he was a government relations professional for Ball Janik LLP. Before that, he worked in a multitude of different positions in Taylor’s office from 1997 to 2002.

While Dalton may be many things, there is no doubt that he is a devoted romantic.

“I dated my wife, Kathryn, long distance for two years while she still lived in Charlotte, North Carolina,” he wrote in an e-mail. “Every other weekend, I’d drive twelve hours (or more, depending on D.C. traffic) round-trip to see her. My jeep is five years old but already has about 120,000 miles on it.”

The Greenville, S.C., native graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He earned a law degree from the same institution in 1996.

The other new staffer, Easley, 23, will work as a legislative correspondent and a staff assistant in the office.

Before coming to Capitol Hill, Easley worked as a volunteer with the Max Burns for Congress campaign and as a horseman at Philmont Scout Ranch.

A cum laude graduate in political science of Georgia College & State University in 2006, Easley wrote in an e-mail that he has had some interesting experiences in his short life as well as a strong connection to the Congressman.

“I graduated from the same high school as Congressman Gingrey,” he said. He also wrote that he “worked for two summers on a horse ranch in New Mexico” and “back packed through Europe for a month during the summer of 2004.”

Easley is from Augusta, Ga.

Simpson Staff Update. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) has announced a number of staff changes in his office.

Missy Small, 27, takes on the role of legislative director for Simpson. Prior to joining the office, Small worked as a legislative director and held other positions for then-Rep. Butch Otter (R-Idaho), who is now the governor of his state, since 2001.

From Meridian, Idaho, Small graduated from Northwest Nazarene University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in English.

Megan Milam, 25, rejoins the office as as an appropriations associate. In that role, Milam said she will be responsible for handling “all of the Congressman’s appropriations committee work” in addition to working on other issues.

Milam previously worked for Simpson as a senior legislative assistant from 2003 to 2005. She also worked as a research assistant for the Scottish Parliament from 2005 to 2006 and completed a two-month graduate internship with the United Nations Security Council at the end of 2006.

Milam earned her undergraduate degree in politics from Princeton University in 2003 and a master’s degree in international and European politics from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in 2006. She is from Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Kaylyn Peterson, 22, joins the office as a its scheduler. Previously, she worked as the office manager for the Clerk of the House since 2006.

From Bountiful, Utah, Peterson graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in political science last May.

Finally, Shane Larsen, 26, has been promoted to legislative assistant. In that role, Larsen will handle issues dealing with agriculture, natural resources and energy.

Larsen previously worked as a scheduler and staff assistant for Simpson.

From Rexburg, Idaho, Larsen graduated from Brigham Young University in Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2005.

“It is extremely important to me that my staff directly reflects Idaho and our interests,” Simpson said in a statement. “These staff members are not only an incredible asset to me, but they directly serve the citizens of Idaho as they know and love our great state as well. I’m proud of everyone on my staff …”

Committee Move. Christine Kurth, 36, has been appointed the Republican staff director of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Previously, Kurth worked for the Senate Appropriations Committee and as counsel on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. She also worked as a trial attorney for the Contempt Division of the National Labor Relations Board. For part of her time there, she worked in the Eastern District of Virginia as special assistant to the U.S. attorney general. She also clerked for Judge James Singleton, who was chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Alaska.

Kurth, who said she “enjoy[s] fishing on the Kenai River every summer with [her] family,” graduated magna cum laude from Valparaiso University and earned a law degree cum laude from the same institution. She is from Anchorage, Alaska.