Lobbying World

• David Boyer will join BGR Government Affairs as a vice president and co-director of its healthcare practice. For the past two years, he was senior director of federal affairs of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and previously lobbied for the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Boyer was a special assistant to former President George W. Bush for legislative affairs and was assistant commissioner for legislation at the Food and Drug Administration. He also served as political director for Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-N.C.) 2004 campaign. 

{mosads}• Christopher Grigorian has joined Foley & Lardner as a partner in the firm’s public policy practice and automotive industry team in Washington. He was formerly a partner with Arent Fox. Before that, Grigorian spent five years as a trial attorney and senior trial attorney in the Justice Department’s tax division.

• Eric Burns and Karl Frisch have launched Bullfight Strategies, a new strategic communications firm. Burns is president of Media Matters for America, while Frisch is a contributor to the group. The two first worked together at the House Rules Committee for Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.). They will partner with Clay Johnson, a co-founder of Blue State Digital.

• Luke Johnson has joined the National Ocean Industries Association, where he will direct legislative and regulatory affairs. He was a senior policy adviser to former Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), where he handled energy and environmental issues. Johnson has also worked at the Interior Department, and served as a professional staffer for the House Natural Resources Committee. He was an aide to former Rep. James V. Hansen (R-Utah).

• Jeanne Butterfield has joined The Raben Group as special counsel. She most recently was a senior adviser to the National Immigration Forum, and was executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association for 12 years. Prior to coming to Washington, she worked in Boston for several nonprofit immigration advocacy groups, such as the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project, Centro Presente and the National Immigrations Project of the National Lawyers Guild.

• Elizabeth Ward has joined The Federation of American Hospitals as vice president of health finance and policy. Before coming to the trade group, she was a budget policy office for the District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance. Ward also was director for Medicare with the Association for Community Affiliated Plans and a program examiner at the Office of Management and Budget.