Scott Powers
U.S. Rep.-elect Stephanie Murphy has named her top congressional staff while announcing she intends to maintain two district offices – in Orange and Seminole counties,
Murphy, the Winter Park Democrat elected in November to represent Florida’s 7th Congressional District, announced that Brad Howard will serve as her chief of staff, John Laufer as her deputy chief and legislative director, and Lauren Grabell Allen as her district manager.
“Brad, Lauren, and John are incredibly experienced and have a passion for public service and a deep commitment to the future and progress of central Florida,” Murphy stated in a news release. “They also share my bipartisan, results-driven approach to the job.”
Howard, who ran Murphy’s campaign, spent five years on Capitol Hill as a communications director for a member of Congress and then the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, which Congresswoman-Elect Murphy will join. He has also served in the U.S. Small Business Administration and as press secretary for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Allen most recently served as the executive director for Support Our Scholars, a Winter Park-based nonprofit organization that financially and emotionally assists young women from underprivileged backgrounds with extraordinary academic potential. Allen previously worked as a government affairs specialist for Siemens Corporation in its Washington, D.C. office, and has also served in the district offices of two U.S. senators.
Laufer spent the last eight years as legislative director for U.S. Rep. Pedro Pierluis of Puerto Rico, and also has served in a New York law firm and for a federal judge.
