Lobbying World

By The Hill Staff - 06/07/11 07:57 PM ET

• Laurie Knight is joining the Association of American Railroads as senior vice president of government affairs. Knight most recently worked for the National Association of Broadcasters as the executive vice president of government affairs. She has also spent time as director of government affairs for the National Beer Wholesalers Association and as legislative director for former Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas).

• Zach Goldberg is coming onboard M+R Strategic Services as vice president of the national campaign firm’s communications department. Goldberg served as communications director for former Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.). Before that he worked for the American Diabetes Association as advocacy and communications manager and for Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) as regional press secretary.

• Jennifer Yocham Poersch has come to Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates to be a senior vice president of the firm. She left JYP Consulting, which she founded approximately six years ago, to join Wexler & Walker. Previously, Poersch worked for Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) as senior adviser during Murray’s time at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and for Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-Conn.) presidential campaign as deputy finance director.

• Hari Sevugan joins StudentsFirst as vice president of communications. Sevugan leaves his position as top party spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. He has worked on several national and state campaigns, including as senior spokesman for President Obama’s campaign and as communications director for Chris Dodd’s presidential campaign. He was also a teacher in the Washington Heights neighborhood, paving the way for his job now with Michelle Rhee’s education organization.

• Ned Monroe is the new senior vice president for external relations for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Monroe worked for the National Automatic Merchandising Association as senior vice president of government affairs before coming to NAM. He was the National Association of Business Political Action Committees’ president in 2006 and vice president of political affairs at the National Restaurant Association.

• Former Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) has joined Gephardt Government Affairs as senior counsel. Obey will also work at the Wisconsin Institute of Public Policy as a senior fellow. He served 41 years in the House of Representatives and chaired the House Appropriations Committee for six of them. Obey also served on the Budget Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.