Lobbying World

• Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has hired William D. Booth and Victoria L. Strohmeyer to join its public law and policy strategies group’s energy and regulated industries practice. A former engineer at the Indian Point nuclear facility, Booth worked most recently as a partner at Bruder, Gentile & Marcoux LLO. Strohmeyer last worked as an associate at Patton Boggs.

• Ted Besesparis has been promoted by the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents to senior vice president of communications. Before joining PIA in 1995, Besesparis was a print and broadcast journalist working for Standard News and Tribune Media Inc., and a talk show in Palm Beach, Fla.

{mosads}• The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare has hired Tom Leibfried as a legislative representative and Robert Gerson as a policy analyst. Leibfried formerly managed a program for mentally ill homeless people, and more recently worked as a lobbyist for the American Psychiatric Association. Gerson was a senior research associate with the Campaign for America’s Future.

• MaryAnne Dunlap has been hired by vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur as deputy director of federal government affairs and public policy. Previously, Dunlap worked on the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee and at the Uniform & Textile Service Association.

• Dan Beattie has been hired by the Clark Hill law firm as a member of its government and public affairs group. Beattie recently worked as director for the state of Michigan’s Washington office for Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D). He has also served as chief of staff to Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.).

• Matt Gelman of Microsoft has been appointed chairman of the Information Technology Industry Council’s government relations committee. He will work closely with Ralph Hellmann, who currently runs ITI’s government relations effort.