Matt Thornblad has been hired as director of energy and environmental government affairs at United Technologies Corp. He was a legislative assistant to Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.

Wendy Kirchoff has been named director of federal resources and legislative affairs at the Independent Petroleum Association of America. She was legislative director for Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla.

Julie Vallese is now vice president of public affairs and strategic communications for Dorel Juvenile Group USA, a division of Dorel Industries Inc. Vallese was formerly director of public affairs for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Greg Crist has been hired as vice president of public affairs at the American Health Care Association.

Melissa Dodson Schooley has been hired as senior director of government affairs at MedTronic Inc. a medical technology company. Schooley was previously head of government affairs for Coventry Health Care. She has also served as a fellow for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight and the Courts.

Daniel Barry has been promoted at the Financial Planning Association to managing director of government relations and public policy.

Ashley Patterson has been hired as director of government relations at Ameresco. Patterson was press secretary for Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.

David S. Valdez has been hired as senior director of public advocacy for CompTIA, an information technology trade association. Valdez was vice president of public affairs, policy and communications at Verizon Northwest.

Jim Howe has been hired as director of government relations for USEC Inc. Howe served as deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.

Jacob Cassady has been hired as manager of government affairs at the American Cleaning Institute. He was previously a legislative specialist for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.

Mark T. Esper has been appointed vice president of government relations at Raytheon Co. Previously, he was executive vice president of the Global Intellectual Property Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Marne Levine, former White House economic adviser, was hired by Facebook to be its new vice president of global public policy. Tim Sparapani will remain as director of Facebook's DC office in charge of outreach to Congress and the federal government.

Research in Motion has hired Republican Jason Scism to fill the slot vacated by Democrat Brian Peters, who went to Franklin Square Group. Scism joins RIM from the office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has hired Bill Killmer as its senior vice president of legislative and political affairs. Killmer, who will start on July 5, spent the past 20 years with the National Association of Home Builders, ending his tenure there as executive vice president for advocacy.

Gene Irisari is now director, government affairs at Texas Instruments. He was previously deputy chief of staff for Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

Brian Gallagher is the new senior vice president of government affairs at the American Pharmacists Association. Previously vice president of compliance for Rite Aid, Gallagher has been vice president for risk management and governance at NDCHealth Corp.

Steve Crout is the new vice president of government affairs in Qualcomm's D.C. Office.

Aron Griffin has joined Tenet Healthcare Corp. as director of federal affairs. He was a top staffer for the House Education and Labor Committee under former Chairman John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Angelo Amador has been named vice president of labor and workforce policy for the National Restaurant Association.

Conrad Lass is joining the American Petroleum Institute as senior director of federal relations.

Irica Solomon has joined the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies as political director. Solomon worked more than 16 years for D.C. policymakers, including at United Airlines in the federal government affairs office.

Bryan Anderson is now vice president for governmental affairs in Southern Company's Washington, D.C., office. He comes from The Coca-Cola Company, where he was vice president of government relations and public affairs.

Karen Quarles is director of federal relations for the American Red Cross. She was deputy director in the D.C. office of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican.

Carrie Hartgen has joined the Advanced Medical Technology Association as vice president of state government relations and regional affairs. She was director of legislative and regulatory affairs for National Strategies, Inc.

Peter Begans is now senior vice president of public and government affairs for SCAN Health Plan. He was vice president of federal government affairs for Medco Health Solutions.

Suzanne Zurn is now vice president for digital advocacy for Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. She comes from Xenophon Strategies, where she led the agency's expansion of social media and Web services.

Melika Carroll is executive director of global public policy for HP. She comes from Micron Technology, where she was director of global government affairs.

Rachel Decker is now senior manager of global public affairs for HP. She comes from BAE Systems, where she directed global communications strategy for commercial, civil and defense markets.

Erin Martinko is now director of federal government relations for USAA. She was senior counsel at Federal Financial Analytics and worked in Fannie Mae's regulatory policy department.

Mike O'Connor is now manager of public affairs at Eli Lilly and Company. He was principal at the Bose Public Affairs Group.

Michigan state Rep. Andy Coulouris will quit the legislature to become public affairs manager for Dow Corning Corp., in the company's Washington, D.C., office.