Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) has two new staffers in his office. Bob Farmer joined as a Brookings Institution Congressional legislative fellow, a snazzy title for the St. Louis native who is now responsible for foreign affairs, defense, science, technology and intelligence issues.

[IMGCAP(1)]Farmer previously worked at Boeing Co., where he held jobs in engineering and manufacturing. His most recent position was in business development for Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems Co. This gave him a chance to work with Members of Congress and their staffs.

Farmer will return to Boeing once his fellowship with Costa is over. He has evidently had an excellent experience with the company, as his future goals center on leadership positions there.

“I hope to lead an organization within Boeing that works with the U.S. Congress and state [and] local government,” he told Climbers in an e-mail.

Farmer, 43, earned a degree from the University of Missouri at Rolla in electrical engineering in 1987. He also earned master’s degrees in electrical engineering and engineering management from Washington University in St. Louis, in 1993 and 1995, respectively.

[IMGCAP(2)]He is still active in his church in St. Louis and helps with his three children’s sports teams and activities. He also enjoys camping and barbecuing with family and friends.

Kristin Brainerd is Costa’s new legislative counsel, with a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and a law degree from Columbia University. She earned those degrees in 1997 and 2003, respectively.

“I’m a third-generation UCLA Bruin. My grandparents met there,” Brainerd said.

From Newport Beach, Calif., Brainerd is responsible for issues pertaining to the environment, natural resources and energy policy.

After she graduated from UCLA, she worked at Congressional Quarterly as a politics reporter, and after law school, she held a job at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as an attorney in the environment and natural resources practice group. In college, Brainerd interned with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

She is running the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler this weekend, though she said “running” might be a bit of an exaggeration.

“Maybe ‘participating’ in,” would be a better way to put it, Brainerd told Climbers.

Brainerd enjoys traveling, and went to Alaska this past fall. She also went to Burma two years ago with her parents as part of a Rotary International project to help orphanages there.

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