Lobbying world

By The Hill Staff - 10/25/11 07:27 PM ET

• The VENG Group, a new government-relations and public-affairs organization, has launched in Washington. Vincent Eng, who previously worked for the Raben Group, is president and founder of the new firm. Eng has worked for the Asian American Justice Center as the deputy director, among several other positions. The Veng Group team also includes Ben Shupe, Kimberly Goulart and Amina Abbas.

• David Di Martino’s DD Media has merged with Blue Engine Message & Media, a strategic communications and advocacy organization. Di Martino is now a partner at Blue Engine. Before he founded DD Media in 2011, he served in several public and private positions, including time with Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). He has also worked for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

• The National Restaurant Association has hired Christopher Melchert to be senior manager for food safety and quality assurance. Melchert worked for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as a compliance officer before joining the association. Prior to that, he worked for the Snack Food Association as director of regulatory and technical affairs.

• McDermott Will & Emery added Edward Eynon, Peggy Binzer, Mark Harkins and Erica Stocker to its Washington law firm. Enyon, who is a partner, previously worked for then-Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) as deputy chief of staff and for the House Government Reform committee as counsel. Binzer, who is also a new partner, has served the Senate Budget Committee and former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) as senior FDA health counsel. Harkins joined as an adviser with experience serving as chief of staff to Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C) and as senior policy adviser to Rep. David Price (D-N.C.). Stocker, an adviser, has worked as deputy chief of staff to former Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.).

• Jacob Olcott is now a principal in Good Harbor Consulting’s cyber-security practice. Olcott recently worked as counsel for Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Before that, he worked as staff director and counsel for the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology.