Bill Murat has been hired as chief of staff for Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. Murat was chief of staff for Baldwin when she was in the House. He has also worked for Baldwin as district director. He has served as a representative in the Wisconsin Legislature and as district attorney for Portage County in Wisconsin.

Carolyn Walser has been hired as director of scheduling/executive assistant for Baldwin. Walser was an executive assistant to former Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. She has also worked as an intern for former Rep. Leonard L. Boswell, D-Iowa.

Will Hansen has been hired as legislative director for Baldwin. Hansen was the executive director of the Joint Economic Committee. He has worked as legislative counsel to Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. He also has worked as an associate at McDermott, Will & Emery, a law and lobbying firm, and as a legal intern at the Treasury Department.

Christian Beckner has been appointed assistant vice president for homeland security and deputy director at George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute, a security policy think tank. Beckner was an associate staff director for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He has worked as a homeland security analyst at IBM. He was a fellow in the homeland security program at think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

David Ballard has been promoted to assistant executive director for organizational excellence at the American Psychological Association. He was an assistant executive director for marketing and business development.

Kevin M. Cookler has been promoted to principal in the regulatory and government affairs group at Fish & Richardson. Cookler was an associate. He has worked as a law clerk to Federal Claims Court Judge James F. Merow. He also has worked at the Federal Communications Commission.

Bruce Thompson has been hired as a senior policy adviser in the government affairs practice at DLA Piper. He was vice president at Van Scoyoc Associates Inc., a government relations firm. He also worked as managing director and senior director of global government relations at Merrill Lynch. He served as assistant secretary of Treasury for legislative affairs under President Ronald Reagan. He also was chief policy adviser for former Sen. William V. Roth Jr., R-Del.

Robert Broeksmit has been hired as a managing director at Treliant Risk Advisors. He was executive vice president of mortgage lending at Capital One. He was president of the B.F. Saul Mortgage Co. at Chevy Chase Bank. He also worked as vice president of direct consumer marketing and sales at the Prudential Home Mortgage Co.