Lobbying World: Veteran congressional chief leads Ford’s government affairs

Jessica Carter has joined Ford as head of U.S. federal government affairs. Carter worked on Capitol Hill for 25 years, including stints as chief of staff for five Republican members of Congress. She most recently served as chief of staff for Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.).

“I looked at the issue sets, and they are just exactly what I’ve been working on for a number of years,” Carter told The Hill, noting her excitement to tackle a range of priorities including permitting reform, battery production and tax issues related to research and development.

Richard Hunt joined the Electronic Payments Coalition as executive chairman. Hunt was previously president and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association, the retail banking trade association that shares members with the coalition including Mastercard and Visa.

Matt Williams joined Precision as senior vice president of communications. Williams previously worked as staff director for the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee and communications director for Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, welcomed Carol Blackford as executive vice president of payment and health care delivery policy. Blackford previously spent more than 28 years at the Department of Health and Human Services, most recently serving as director of the hospital and ambulatory policy group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Colton Hotary is now the director of government affairs at LG Electronics. He previously worked as the director of government affairs at Autos Drive America.