Lobbying World

By The Hill Staff - 05/03/11 07:25 PM ET

• Christine Pollack will join the Retail Industry Leaders Association as vice president for government relations. Pollack comes from the American Medical Association, where she served as the assistant director of congressional affairs. Before that, Pollack worked as the legislative director for former Rep. Eugene Shaw (R-Fla.). She also served at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

• Betsy Holahan has started her own strategic communications consulting firm, Great Point Strategies. Holahan served a combined 13 years on Capitol Hill and in the Treasury Department and was communications director for the Senate Budget Committee. Before that, she worked in communications for the Treasury Department and the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.

•Lauren Bloomberg has joined Edleman’s public-relations healthcare team. Bloomberg leaves Capitol Hill after four and a half years, most recently serving as press secretary for the House Ways and Means Committee. She also worked on the Democratic staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

• Bret Perkins has been promoted within Comcast Corp. to vice president of external and government affairs. Perkins previously held the position of senior director of public policy for the company. Before working at Comcast, he was vice president of system services and assistant to the president at Mercy Health System.

• Julia Sullivan has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s energy regulatory practice as a partner. Sullivan was sole partner in her own firm prior to accepting Akin Gump’s offer. Before that, Sullivan worked for Sidley Austin as a partner in the economic and regulatory litigation group. She has represented energy companies before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and is a member of the Federal Energy Bar Association.

• Jennifer Nardi is joining Cassidy & Associates to work on healthcare and veterans’ issues. Nardi is leaving her position as a healthcare policy adviser to Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Before that, she worked at the Office of Legislation within the Food and Drug Administration.