Upton unveils senior staff for Energy and Commerce Committee

Michael Beckerman – Deputy
Staff Director
Now in his second
stint with Congressman Upton, Beckerman has served as Policy Director
since 2007.  Prior to rejoining Upton’s staff, he served as Congressman
K. Michael Conaway’s
(R-TX) first Legislative Director.  

Jim Barnette – General Counsel
Barnette will return to the Committee to serve as General
Counsel in the 112th Congress.  Barnette had previously served as
General Counsel under Chairmen Tom Bliley (R-VA), Billy Tauzin (R-LA)
and Joe Barton (R-TX). 

Howard Cohen – Chief Health Counsel, full committee
Cohen has a Ph.D from the University
of Massachusetts in Psychology and a law degree from George Washington
University.  Cohen returns
to the Committee after a decade of service in the
1990s where he worked on issues in Medicare,
Medicaid, and the Public Health Service Act.

Alexa Marrero- Communications Director
Marrero has served since 2007 as Communications Director for
the House Committee on Education and Labor under Senior Republican
Members John Kline (R-MN) and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA). She was
previously Vice President of Communications and Industry
Relations for the nonprofit Education Finance Council, and before that
served as Press Secretary for the Committee on Education and the
Workforce under then-Chairman John Boehner (R-OH). 

Sean Bonyun – Deputy Communications Director
Bonyun has served as
Communications Director for Congressman Upton since 2003.  Prior to
joining Upton’s staff, Bonyun served as Press Secretary
for Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (R-CT)
and Congressman Steve Kuykendall (R-CA).

Gib Mullan- Chief Counsel, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and
Trade
Mullan joins the Committee after seven years of service
with
the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, first as General
Counsel and then as Director of Compliance and Field Operations
overseeing thousands of investigations and recalls.  Most recently, he
coordinated a conference on Import Safety involving ten
federal agencies. 

Neil Fried
–
Chief Counsel, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Fried continues his service on the Committee, where
he has been involved in the enactment of the 2005
digital television transition legislation and congressional oversight of
the 2009 transition date. Before joining the Committee
in August 2003, he spent three years in private practice, where he
specialized in television and telecommunications issues. Prior to his
work in the private sector, he served four years with the Federal
Communications Commission implementing the Telecommunications
Act of 1996.

Maryam Brown
– Chief Counsel, Subcommittee on Energy and Power
Brown returns to the Committee
from the Senate Republican Policy Committee (RPC) where she
served as Policy Counsel, managing RPC’s energy and environment
portfolio. Brown previously served as Counsel to the Committee
(2004-2006) as well as Staff Director to the House Subcommittee
on Energy and Mineral Resources (2006-2008), managing a wide range of
energy and environment issues in both capacities.

Ryan Long – Chief
Counsel, Subcommittee on Health
Long joined the Committee as a Professional Staff Member in
2004 and became the Chief Health Counsel in 2006.  Prior to his work on
the Committee, Ryan served as Congressman Joe Barton’s Legislative
Director and also worked the office of Congressman
Charlie Norwood.

Aaron Cutler –
Deputy Policy Director and Counsel
A University of Michigan Law School graduate, Cutler continues
his service on the
Committee.  Cutler previously served as Energy Counsel, working
on a range of energy issues, including, oil and gas, fuels, efficiency,
and the Clean Air Act.

Marty Dannenfelser
–
Senior Advisor Health Policy and Coalitions
Dannenfelser moves to the Committee from his post as
Staff Director for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. 
He previously served as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary
at the Administration for Children and Families/U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, a Vice President at the Family Research
Council, and Administrative Assistant for Congressman
Christopher Smith (R-NJ).

Ray Baum – Senior
Policy Advisor, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Baum, a native of La Grande, Oregon, is a former Majority
Leader of the Oregon state House of Representatives and current
chairman of the Oregon Public Utility Commission.  Baum also chaired
the Oregon Broadband
Advisory Council, served as a member of the Board of Directors of the
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and is
state chair of the Federal–State Joint Board on Universal Service.