San Diego City Wire

SAN DIEGO – On June 1, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50) announced changes to his staff in his Washington, D.C. office, prompted by the departure of his long-time aide, Dan Zawitoski, who has ably served as Peters’ D.C. Chief of Staff since 2018. Zawitoski heads to the private sector next month. Baillee Brown, Peters’ current Legislative Director, will step into the D.C. Chief of Staff role.

“Dan has been a foundational part of my office since I came to Congress in 2013 and he will be very, very missed. Dan joined Team Peters eleven years ago as part of my 2012 campaign and rose from legislative correspondent to D.C. Chief of Staff thanks to his acumen, intellect, and hard work. Over the years, I watched him grow into a great leader, both in my office and on Capitol Hill,” Peters said, adding that Dan played a pivotal role in crafting the drug pricing reform legislation Peters offered last year that capped prescription drug prices for seniors and allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in U.S. history. These reforms were adopted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Adam Taylor, who is currently Peters’ Military Legislative Assistant, will be promoted to Legislative Director. Jackie Sobol, who is currently Peters’ D.C. scheduler, will begin working as a Legislative Assistant.

Finally, Nicole Golden, will join the D.C. office next month as D.C. Scheduler. Golden hails from San Diego, within the 50th Congressional district that Peters represents.

“Team Peters is sad to lose Dan, but we wish him all the best and are very grateful to him for all he’s contributed to our office. Fortunately, we have a deep bench. We welcome Baillee, Adam, and Jackie to their new roles, and Nicole to the team,” said MaryAnne Pintar, Peters’ Chief of Staff.

Below is an updated roster of Peters’ staff:

WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE:

Baillee Brown, D.C. Chief of Staff: Baillee Brown joined the office in 2015 and has served as Peters’ Scheduler, Legislative Assistant, and Legislative Director before assuming the role of D.C. Chief of Staff. In this position, she manages all D.C. operations, legislative affairs, and strategy. Originally from Arizona, she studied Politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Adam Taylor, Legislative Director: Adam Taylor joined the team in 2021 as Peters’ Military Legislative Assistant and now manages Peters’ legislative team and executes his legislative strategy and priorities. He previously worked as a HillVets Fellow in the Office of Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06) and served as an officer in the Marine Corps for four years. Adam received his Bachelor’s degree in Arts in Government and Economics from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA in 2014 and his Master of Arts in International Relations from American University’s School of International Service in Washington, D.C. in 2020. He is currently a student in the U.S. Naval War College’s Fleet Seminar Program.

Paul Iskajyan, Press Secretary: Paul Iskajyan joined the office in March 2023. Before joining the team, he worked for former Representatives Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) and Katie Hill (CA-25) in various communications roles. Originally from Whittier, California, Paul studied Political Science with an emphasis on American Politics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Tom Erb, Climate Policy Director: Tom Erb grew up in Poway, California. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy Analysis from Pomona College and a Master’s of Professional Studies in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University. Before joining the office, he worked at the World Bank and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Dillon Cooke, Health Legislative Assistant: Originally from San Diego, Dillon holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Political Science from the University of California, San Diego along with a Master’s in Public Administration and a concentration in Health Policy from American University. Dillon joined Team Peters at the beginning of 2021 as the Legislative Correspondent before becoming the Health Legislative Assistant at the beginning of 2022.

Jackie Sobol, Legislative Assistant: Jackie Sobol has been working for Peters since May 2022. She began as his Scheduler/Legislative Aide and now covers education, childcare, housing, public safety, and women’s issues. Jackie graduated from the University of Michigan in 2020, where she studied Political Science, Women’s Studies, and Sociology.

Sophia Garcia, Legislative Correspondent: Sophia Garcia started working for Representative Peters in May 2022. Sophia handles constituent mail operations in the office as well as postal and census legislative issues. Sophia graduated from American University in 2019 with a B.A. in Political Science, concentration in Comparative Politics. She speaks fluent Spanish.

Jackie Duran, Staff Assistant: Jackie Duran, a California native, started as an intern in Peters’ Washington, D.C. office in 2022. Jackie handles the tour and flag requests the office receives and runs the Washington, D.C. internship program. Duran has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations from University of California, San Diego.

SAN DIEGO OFFICE:

MaryAnne Pintar, Chief of Staff: MaryAnne Pintar continues to run San Diego operations and outreach, as well as press, communications, and political strategy for both offices. Pintar began working with Peters in 2008, was his last Chief of Staff when he was San Diego City Council President, was Deputy Campaign Manager for his 2012 congressional campaign, and has overseen all his re-elects. She was the first Latina Chief of Staff to a San Diego Mayor in the 1990s and later ran her own public affairs consulting business. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for MANA de San Diego and is the Vice-Chair of the San Diego County Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board. Pintar has Master of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from San Diego State University.

Jason Bercovitch, District Director: Jason Bercovitch began working for Rep. Peters in 2013 and currently oversees all district office operations. Bercovitch manages a portfolio focused on foreign affairs, financial services, and outreach to local small businesses and faith-based communities. Prior to joining Peters’ office, he was an intern for former Congresswoman Susan Davis while working as a financial advisor and loan officer at various local financial institutions. Bercovitch has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics and a minor in Political Science from the UC Riverside. Bercovitch spent most of his childhood in Puerto Rico and is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Cesar Solis, Director of Constituent Services: Cesar Solis oversees all constituent services in the District office as well as the office internship program. He was born and raised in East County San Diego and graduated from UC San Diego in 2018 with a B.A. in Political Science, International Relations. Cesar was an intern in the District Office in 2017 and was hired full-time in 2018. Cesar handles the environment and infrastructure legislative portfolio and is the community representative for the Balboa Park Communities. He is fluent in Spanish.

Daniela Contreras, Press Secretary: Daniela Contreras serves as Rep. Peters’ San Diego-based press secretary and handles local media outreach. She was raised in Chula Vista and began her career in broadcast journalism for English and Spanish-language local news. Her passion for writing, politics and government led to her earning a B.A. in Journalism and Political Science, with a minor in French, from San Diego State University. She transitioned from news to communications in May 2020 when she was hired to work for Peters. She speaks fluent Spanish and French.

 

Cairo Williams, Scheduler/Field Representative: Cairo Williams began working with the Office of Congressman Scott Peters in August of 2021. She oversees the Congressman’s day-to-day schedule in the district and handles education, women’s rights, civil rights, labor and postal issues for the office. Cairo graduated from the UC Santa Barbara in 2020 with a degree in Sociology, emphasizing in Race & Ethnicity. In addition to her full-time role with the Congressman’s office, Cairo works part-time as a Program Facilitator for the Aaron Price Fellows Program, a local non-profit organization dedicated to serving diverse and highly motivated San Diego public high school students.

Rachel Dugan, Field Representative: Rachel Dugan grew up in East County San Diego and graduated from Sonoma State University. She began her time with Team Peters in 2022 and covers Social Security, seniors and health care. Before working for Congressman Peters, Rachel did a year of AmeriCorps VISTA, completed an internship in Senator Jon Tester’s office, and was a research assistant for Sharp Healthcare.

Samantha Keosoukanh, Military and Defense Field Representative/Wounded Warrior Fellow: Samantha “Keo” Keosoukanh is a Veteran and served four years enlisted in the US Marine Corps, which included a deployment to the Middle East in support of SPMAGTF-CR-CC (Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command), during the Afghan-Evac Operations. After getting honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, Keo has continued pursuing her bachelor’s degree in business management at Golden Gate University. She has been with the office since May of 2022, and handles the Military, Veteran’s, and Defense portfolio.

Priscilla Huang, AAPI Field Representative: Priscilla Huang, a California native, began as an intern for the Congressman Peters’ office in January 2020 before returning as a full-time staff member in May 2022. Huang helps manage the office’s Asia Pacific Foreign affairs, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community outreach, animals, housing/homelessness, gun violence prevention, and census portfolios. She also manages the annual Congressional App Challenge in the office. Huang has a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and a minor in History from George Washington University and a Master of Arts in Communication Management from the University of Southern California. Huang is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese.

Original source can be found here.