People

SHOW-ME TO D.C. The Sheridan Group, a progressive government affairs firm, has hired Allen Todd to serve as a senior policy/advocacy associate. He will have a domestic portfolio, including poverty and education issues. Todd is in the process of relocating from his home state of Missouri back to Washington for the new job. Todd lived in D.C. as administrative director for Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., from 2005-07. He most recently was executive director of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. Todd worked for the Missouri Democratic Party before a stint as director of policy and planning at Missouri's Office of Homeland Security. "It was mainly coordination," he says of the job. "A lot of the stuff just hadn't been thought about until 9/11." Todd has long been interested in public affairs. "When I was young I was interested in the political side, and then I gravitated toward the public policy side, where you could impact people's lives." His parents weren't politically active initially, but his father, Tom Todd, ran for office after retirement and is a Democratic state representative in Missouri. Allen Todd's wife, Heather Lasher Todd, is a former press secretary to Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J.

EX-PIRG. Now working as policy counsel at the Benton Foundation is Amina Fazlullah, formerly of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. In her previous position, she worked on telecommunications and digital privacy issues. The Benton Foundation is a public interest group focusing on broadband and digital access issues. In addition, joining the foundation's board of directors is Joanne Hovis, president of the energy consulting and technology firm CTC. The Benton Foundation was originally founded by the late Sen. William Benton, D-Conn.; it is chaired by Benton's son Charles.

STEPPING OUT. Arthur Rothkopf is leaving his position at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He had been in charge of the Chamber's education and workforce initiative. That role is now filled by former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Rothkopf was recently appointed for a six-year term as a member of the Education Department's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity. Earlier in his career, Rothkopf served as deputy secretary of Transportation under former President George H.W. Bush.

This article appears in the June 12, 2010, edition of National Journal Daily.

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