Lobbying World

By The Hill Staff - 04/05/11 07:39 PM ET

• Allison Binney has rejoined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld as a partner in the firm’s American Indian law and policy practice. She has been staff director and chief counsel to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Along with her time on Capitol Hill and at Akin Gump, Binney worked as an associate at a boutique American Indian law firm. She also worked as the program coordinator for the Indian Legal Program at the Arizona State University College of Law and as a law clerk for the Native American Rights Fund in Washington.

• Julie Philp will join the National Association of Chain Drug Stores as its new director of federal government affairs. She has been a director of government relations for the Association of Community Pharmacists and worked at the American Capitol Group on healthcare issues. On Capitol Hill, Philp has been an aide to Reps. John Campbell (R-Calif.), Michael Burgess (R-Texas) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.).

• John Schaeffler has rejoined GE Healthcare and will oversee its government relations efforts in Washington. He has been a senior vice president of federal legislative affairs at DaVita Inc., a kidney care provider. He has also worked at the American Healthcare Association.

• Steven Lott has joined the Air Transport Association of America as vice president of communications. He comes to the trade group from the International Air Transport Association, where he was head of communications for North America. Before that, Lott was a journalist and editor for Aviation Daily and Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.

• Joon Suh has joined Venn Strategies as a senior associate. Before coming to the firm, he was a legislative aide to former Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), then a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Suh was a research director at Anzalone Liszt Research, a political polling firm that worked for President Obama’s 2008 campaign as well as several House and Senate candidates.

• Karen Wayland has joined the Nature Conservancy as its new director of climate change policy. Before coming to the environmental group, she was a senior adviser on energy and environmental issues to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Wayland has also been legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council and a science fellow for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). She has also been a practicing scientist at Michigan State University and the Earthwatch Institute.