New staff members for Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-Va.) have worked in places as far away as Iraq and as nearby as Virginia before moving to the congresswoman’s Washington office.
Andrew Hicks, a former naval officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has recently joined Davis’s staff as military legislative assistant. An Alabama native and a 2000 Vanderbilt graduate, Hicks will handle military, veterans and NASA issues for Davis.
Hicks worked as a legislative aide for Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla) before moving to Davis’s office.
Other staff members have followed Davis from her Fredericksburg office to the Hill. Lauren Ridenour was a district representative before recently joining the Washington staff as legislative correspondent. She graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2004 with a degree in governmental administration and a concentration in public management.
Jenny Stein, also a former district representative, was recently promoted in the Washington office. Stein, who was a legislative correspondent, is now scheduler and office manager. She is a 2002 University of Virginia graduate with a degree in foreign affairs and history.
Amanda Meadows, a native of Stafford, Va., has also recently joined the staff. After her 2004 graduation from Christopher Newport University, Meadows interned for Davis.
Veteran, rookie new to Neugebauer’s office
For the first time in 19 years, Jodi Detwiler is a new face in a Capitol Hill office. After working for then-Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-Neb.) for her 19-year-long career, Detwiler is working for Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas).
Detwiler is joining Neugebauer’s staff as legislative director, overseeing the congressman’s legislative goals and managing the direction of his policy agenda. She spent the past eight years working with judiciary, homeland security and appropriations issues for Bereuter.
Detwiler is a Texas native, and Neugebauer represents the district where her family lives.
“I’m really excited to be working with a member from Texas,” she said. Detwiler can feel at home in her new office because the district Bereuter represented in Nebraska is similar to the district Neugebauer represents in Texas, she said, adding that both are rural areas where agriculture is “big business.”
Joann Wardrip also has joined Neugebauer’s Washington staff, as staff assistant. Wardrip, who recently was an intern for Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), will now serve as intern coordinator for Neugebauer. She will also handle constituent issues and conduct tours of the Capitol.
Wardrip, a 2003 graduate of the University of Colorado, worked on George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign. She also worked on Colorado Gov. Bill Owens’s (R) legislative liaison staff.