Energetic Five in Senate Energy
Amber Passmore is one of three new staff assistants for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, joining the office earlier this year and bringing with her experience from several different organizations. She spent time as a legislative intern for Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), with Camp Fire USA New Mexico Council, a youth organization, and with the League of Conservation Voters in Albuquerque, N.M., where she worked in conjunction with America Votes during the 2006 elections. [IMGCAP(1)]
She enjoys her work at the committee so far because she is excited “to be part of the changes in technology as they happen.” Passmore’s goal is to become a legislative assistant in environment or energy.
The New Mexico native has a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of New Mexico and a master’s in international law from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She is 25 and currently lives on Capitol Hill.
Up until May, Rosemarie Calabro was a double major in Spanish and government at Georgetown University and a coxswain on the school’s varsity openweight women’s crew team. She spent her summers working for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and at the Asian American Justice Center.
When Calabro graduated cum laude in May, she went on to work for the committee as its second staff assistant. She also has spent time as a scheduling intern for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), and in June 2001 she was a Senate Democratic page.
Calabro, 22, is from Hyattsville, Md.
Gina Weinstock is the third staff assistant for the committee. A former office manager and program assistant at Clean Water Action, an environmental group, Weinstock graduated from Michigan State University in East Lansing with a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy in 2004. She went on to work for Stabenow for U.S. Senate as a statewide scheduler and outreach coordinator.
Weinstock is originally from Oxford, Mich., and currently lives on the Hill. She is 25 and enjoys arts and crafts in her spare time.
Allyson Anderson is a new professional staff member on the committee, having joined the panel last year as an American Geological Institute Congressional Science fellow. She is originally from Des Moines, Iowa, and previously served as a petrophysicist for Exxon Mobil Corp. She earned undergraduate degrees in music and geology from the University of Northern Iowa in 1997 and a master’s degree in geology from the Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis in 2000. [IMGCAP(2)]
Her current concentration is in research and development, and she plans to look into hydrocarbon science with a focus on carbon sequestration. She is the past president of the Association for Women Geoscientists and the vice chairwoman of professional women in the Geoscience Professions Ad Hoc Committee of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Lastly, Kira Finkler returns to the committee after taking a four-year hiatus to serve as the senior policy adviser and government affairs director for Trout Unlimited, a conservation organization. She also served on the board for Sustainable Northwest, dedicated to sustainable development, and the Penobscot River Restoration Trust. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Arizona in 1988 and her law degree from American University in 1993.
Finkler says that she is from two places: Anchorage, Alaska, and Tucson, Ariz. She is married with three children.
Harkin Adds Communication Director. Semonti Mustaphi has joined the office of Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) as deputy communications director. She has previously served Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), former Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) and the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.).
“I am excited that Semonti Mustaphi will be joining my Washington staff,” Harkin said in a statement. “Her insight, energy and midwestern values will be an outstanding addition to my office.”
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