Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has named Jessica Ferguson as his new press secretary and Andi Fouberg as his deputy communications director.

Before joining Thune’s office, Ferguson worked in the House Republican leadership’s office as deputy press secretary for the Republican Conference under Chairwoman Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio).

Ferguson, 25, began her Capitol Hill career in the office of Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.). She is a native of Boca Raton, Fla., and graduated in 2002 from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and Spanish.

Fouberg, 28, is not new to Thune’s office. For the past nine months she has worked as senator’s deputy state director in Sioux Falls. Before that, she worked on Thune’s Senate campaign as director of community affairs.

Before going to work for Thune, Fouberg worked for South Dakota State University, the South Dakota Republican Party and the South Dakota Board of Regents. A native of Letcher, S.D., she is a 1999 graduate of South Dakota State University with degrees in journalism and political science.

DeLauro bids farewell to aide

Greener pastures can be found on foreign soil.

Becky Salay, who has worked in Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s (D-Conn.) office for the past decade, is leaving to pursue a master’s degree in international health policy at the London School of Economics.

Salay started out as a intern in DeLauro’s New Haven office and then became a staff assistant in the D.C. office, followed by various legislative positions before being promoted to legislative director four years ago.

Letty Mederos, 35, a senior legislative assistant, replaces Salay as legislative director. Before joining DeLauro’s staff, Mederos was a senior legislative assistant for former Rep. Carrie Meek (D-Fla.) and before that was a legislative assistant to Rep. Al Wynn (D-Md.).

Mederos has taught American history at the College of Southern Maryland and worked as a social worker at Gaithersburg Middle School in Maryland. She is a native of Havana, Cuba, and lived in Miami until 1995. She has a master’s degree in American history from Rutgers University and a degree in history/social work from Florida International University.

In addition to Medero’s promotion, DeLauro has also promoted James Wise, 29, to senior legislative assistant. Wise has worked for DeLauro since January 2004. In his new post, he will cover the congresswoman’s Budget Committee assignment and tax issues.