Jon Tester, U.S. Senator

U.S. Senator-Elect Jon Tester formally announced five members of his staff, all of whom will have key positions in Montana and Washington.

Chief of Staff: Stephanie Schriock
Schriock will become Tester’s Chief of Staff after managing his successful Senate campaign. Growing up in Butte, Schriock has broad political experience working for high profile leaders around the nation. Schriock served as senior advisor for Gov. Howard Dean’s Presidential campaign in Vermont and managed David Walters’ Senate Campaign in Oklahoma. She worked at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 1999-2002 aiding campaigns across the country including Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2000 and the 2002 re-election campaign of Sen. Max Baucus.

State Director: Bill Lombardi
Lombardi has more than a dozen years of political experience in Montana. He managed Tester’s U.S. Senate primary campaign and served as Political Director on Tester’s general election campaign. For six years Lombardi worked for Sen. Max Baucus as Communications Director. In 2005, Lombardi served as Secretary of the Montana Senate under then-Senate President Tester. Lombardi also played key roles on numerous political campaigns throughout his career. Before entering politics Lombardi was an award-winning journalist, and served as Bureau Chief for Lee Newspapers in Montana. Lombardi received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Legislative Director: Bridget Walsh
Walsh has worked for the last six years for Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida starting on his campaign in 2000. She served as Nelson’s Deputy Legislative Director for the last three years. She also worked on the legal team for the Kerry/Edwards Presidential campaign, and joined Sen. Tim Johnson’s re-election campaign in 2002. Prior to her work in politics Walsh practiced law in Chicago. She is a graduate of Loyola University Law School and the University of Notre Dame.

Communications Director: Matt McKenna
McKenna, a Bozeman native, served as Communications Director on Tester’s Senate campaign. He previously worked on the U.S . Senate campaigns of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer in 2000 and former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles in 2004. McKenna also worked for U.S. Senators Tom Daschle, Max Cleland and Mary Landrieu. He holds a B.S. in Political Science from Montana State University.

Press Secretary: Aaron Murphy
Murphy is a former Executive Producer for KTVQ-TV in Billings, Mont. He served as Deputy Communications Director on Tester’s campaign. Murphy also produced morning news for KGW-TV in Portland, Ore., and worked as the Portland Bureau Coordinator for Northwest Cable News. Murphy, a former Yellowstone Park Ranger, received his B.S. in Journalism from the University of Montana.

“We’re putting together a staff that will be very responsive to Montana’s needs,” Tester said. “These folks are smart, hard-working public servants.”

Tester will announce other members of his staff in the coming days. Most will be in place by the time he takes office on Thursday, January 4th.

Posted on Wednesday, December 27th, 2006 at 12:25 pm.