Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) recently hired a new staffer while promoting five others. [IMGCAP(1)]

Assuming the role as Capps’ chief of staff is Randolph Harrison, 47. Previously, Harrison served as legislative director in the office. He says that his new role is a far cry from his first job selling vinyl records or his “most unusual job” as a trash hauler on a construction site.

Prior to spending nine years as Capps’ LD, Harrison worked in the same capacity for the Congresswoman’s late husband, Rep. Walter Capps (D-Calif.). He also served as a legislative assistant for Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) when Schumer was a Member of the House, and as a lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Harrison, who grew up in Camp Lejeune, N.C., earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from The George Washington University in 1989. He said that his ultimate goal in life is to “sail around the world.”

Moving up in the ranks to fill Harrison’s former role as legislative director is Jonathan Levenshus, 29.

Levenshus, who previously served as senior legislative assistant, started in Capps’ office in 2000 as a staff assistant. He also served as a legislative correspondent and legislative assistant.

The Westminster, Calif., native earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from California State University at Long Beach in 2000. Other than office work, Levenshus is responsible for coaching the office’s softball team.

Also moving up the office ladder is Ramesh Nagarajan, 26. Formerly a legislative aide in the office, he now will work as a legislative assistant. [IMGCAP(2)]

Nagarajan started in Capps’ office in February 2006 as a legislative correspondent. Previously, he was an intern for Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.).

A native of Spring Hill, Fla., Nagarajan earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in history from Princeton University in 2003. He also earned a master’s degree in modern European history with distinction from Corpus Christi College at Oxford University in 2005.

Aaron Shapiro, 22, will now work as a legislative aide. He previously served as a legislative correspondent since September 2006.

Shapiro graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in political science and public policy in 2006.

Capping off the California Congresswoman’s promotions is Emily Ghan, 23. Ghan will now serve as a legislative correspondent.

Prior to assuming her new job, Ghan worked as a staff assistant for Capps since last year. Among other jobs and internships Ghan has held, she wrote in an e-mail, she “worked through college doing random tasks for celebrities as a concierge in Santa Barbara.”

A native of Laguna Niguel, Calif., Ghan earned a degree in political science and English from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2006.

Finally, Danielle LeTendre, 24, is a new installment in the office as a staff assistant.

Previously LeTendre worked as the Southwest regional volunteer coordinator for Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-Mo.) successful Senate campaign in the fall. Prior to that, she worked on the general staff for a California state Senate campaign in 2004.

A world traveler, LeTendre wrote in an e-mail that between working on the two campaigns she “traveled around the world …visiting countries such as East Timor, Mongolia, and Australia.”

A 2004 political science graduate from California Polytechnic State University, LeTendre is from Joplin, Mo.

Sali Adds On. Rep. Bill Sali (R-Idaho) recently announced a few additions to his Washington, D.C., office.

Coming aboard as senior legislative assistant is Matthew Hite. Previously, he worked for former Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Republican Reps. Don Young (Alaska) and Rep. Paul Gillmor (Ohio).

From Westlake, Ohio, Hite earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester in 1996 and a law degree from Cleveland State University in 2001.

Also new to the office as a legislative assistant is Marcus Brubaker, 28.

Before joining Sali’s team, Brubaker worked as a legislative correspondent for Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo.) since 2006. Prior to that, he was an academic adviser and office administrator for Washington International Studies Council in Oxford, England, from 2001 to 2005. From 2003 to 2004, he was an analyst and profiler for the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Brubaker earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Hillsdale College in 2001. He earned a master’s degree in modern history from the University of Oxford’s Worcester College in 2002 and a master’s degree in international security studies from the University of St. Andrews in 2004. He hails from Casper, Wyo.

Jessica Prol, 24, is new to the office as a legislative correspondent.

Previously, Prol served as a legislative correspondent and press assistant for former Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kan.) in 2006.

“I started being politically active at 14 years old,” Prol wrote in an e-mail, “when I wrote my Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), made an appearance on the O’Reilly Factor and got to spend 5 days in D.C. as a junior lobbyist.” Prol added as an interesting aside that she has “about 60 natural born, first cousins.”

A 2005 English graduate of Grove City College, Prol received the Witherspoon Fellowship from the Family Research Council. She is from West Caldwell, N.J.