Lobbying World: HHS, House alum to join government affairs shop

Leslie Zelenko will join the government affairs firm KDCR Partners as a principal. Zelenko most recently served as the deputy assistant secretary for legislation at the Department of Health and Human Services and previously spent more than a decade in the U.S. House, including as legislative director for Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.).

The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) tapped Casey Clark as its next president and CEO. Clark is currently senior vice president of the American Gaming Association and was previously managing director of FTI Consulting. He will succeed Pat Cleary, who previously announced he would step down at the end of this year.

Jessica Mackler is interim vice president of EMILY’s List, which was previously helmed by newly appointed Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.). The group’s senior vice president of campaigns, Mackler was previously director of independent expenditures at the Democratic Governors Association during the 2020 election and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2018 midterms.

CRD Associates welcomed Paige Jones as a senior policy associate. A licensed social worker, she previously worked as a legislative assistant for Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) and was a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation fellow.