A few summers ago, Josh Pitcock climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with his dad as part of a father-son bonding trip.

Now he has climbed the career ladder on Capitol Hill to become deputy chief of staff and legislative counsel for Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.). [IMGCAP(1)]

Pitcock, 32, has been with the Congressman since May 2005 and before that practiced commercial law for three and a half years in Atlanta. He worked for the firm Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs and concentrated in banking and commercial lending.

Pitcock earned his law degree from Wake Forest University in 2001 and received a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University in 1998, with a major in political science.

When he’s not working for Pence, Pitcock said he spends “a lot of time with my wife and our new puppy.” He was married in June of this year.

He is from Anderson, Ind., and claimed that this Hill Climbers interview has been his most embarrassing moment on the Hill so far.

His future plans are “to stick around the Hill in Washington, D.C.”

Pence also promoted Nathaniel Milazzo from legislative correspondent to legislative assistant. He has been with the Congressman for about two and a half years. Before that, he was an intern for Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.).

“The reason I moved to D.C. was to get married,” said Milazzo, who wedded his wife Christel in August 2004. Christel is an associate business manager for DAI, a development firm.

Before coming to D.C., Milazzo, 27, worked for Dell. [IMGCAP(2)]

“I put in a couple years there when I was finishing my degree and then after college,” he said.

That college was LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, where he earned a degree in interdisciplinary studies in May 2003. The degree allowed him to spend two semesters in China and a semester in D.C., where he focused on American studies and met his wife.

His hometown is Port Townsend, Wash.

Dancin’ LD. Chrissy Poe is clogging her way up the Hill as the new legislative director for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.). The Colville, Wash., native has been dancing since she was 10 years old and once was a competitive clogger.

Now, “its fun to just go and not have to think about work-type stuff,” she said.

That’s not to say she doesn’t enjoy her time with McMorris Rodgers. Poe has worked with the Congresswoman full time since January 2003 and helped with her election in November 2004. Poe joined McMorris Rodgers’ D.C.-based staff in January 2005, as a legislative assistant.

She also has experience with state Sen. Bob Morton (R) of Washington.

She graduated from Washington State University, where she was a member of the Alpha Thi sorority, in 2002. Poe said she hopes to return to the Northwest to go to law school.

Besides clogging, she enjoys reading and “getting to be a tourist” in D.C.

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