WASHINGTON, D.C., April 29, 2004 – House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) today announced the promotion of two Committee staffers.

Boehlert appointed Joe Pouliot communications director, replacing Heidi Tringe who recently departed the Committee to assume a position with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Pouliot had been serving as deputy communications director since March. Prior to that, he served as special assistant to the chief of staff. He began his tenure with the Committee in June, 2002 as a Full Committee staff assistant.

Pouliot, 27, is a native of Utica, New York. He graduated cum laude from George Washington University in 2002 with a B.A. in Political Science. During a three year hiatus from his studies at George Washington, Pouliot worked for the City of Utica serving as executive assistant to the mayor.

David Mayorga, 21, replaced Pouliot as special assistant to the chief of staff in March. He today also assumed the duties of administrative clerk. Mayorga began working for the Committee in January as an intern assigned to the Full Committee.

A native of Coral Springs, Florida, Mayorga graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida in 2003 with a B.A. in Anthropology and a minor in Health Science Education. While studying at the University of Florida, he conducted research in the Departments of Pharmacology and Anthropology, and he worked at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

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