U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced that she is growing her staff with these changes:
Promotions:
Angela Ramponi is being promoted from senior policy advisor to the position of legislative director. Angela has managed Sen. Murkowski’s healthcare portfolio for the past four years, advancing the senator’s priorities as a senior member of the Senate HELP and Appropriations committees. Angela also covered many state and local government issues and played a key role in drafting the bipartisan infrastructure law. Prior to joining Murkowski’s office, she acted as legislative liaison and policy analyst for the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. She holds a master of public health from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a bachelor of arts in Public Health and Biology. Angela grew up in Soldotna.
Mike Songer joins Senator Murkowski’s D.C. office as the new National Security Advisor after serving as Murkowski’s Pprofessional staff member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Mike worked in the office of the late U.S. Congressman Don Young as his Senior Legislative Assistant and Defense Policy Advisor before joining the Indian Affairs Committee. He served in the USAF, including deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, followed by a term serving as a Hill Vets fellow. He holds a master of business administration in Aerospace and Defense from the University of Tennessee.
New Staff:
Emma Ashlock joins Senator Murkowski’s D.C. office as an Intern. Emma is from Anchorage and graduated from Alaska Middle College School. She earned a bachelors in Politics Science from the University of Alaska – Fairbanks. She previously served as summer intern in Senator Murkowski’s D.C. office in 2018. Emma will assist with Arctic policy research and correspondence until July 2023.
Major Robert Bruce joins Senator Murkowski’s office as the new United States Air Force (USAF) Fellow. His most recent assignment was serving as a fellow for the office of the Air Force Reserve Legislative Affairs with duty at the U.S. Department of State where he coordinated legislative activity and correspondence between the State Department and members of Congress. After enlisting in the Air Force in 1998, he graduated in 2007 from Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Education and then later commissioned. He has served in a variety of tactical and staff level positions and most recently served as the Commander of the Force Support Squadron at Travis AFB.
Gabe Crabtree joins Murkowski’s Anchorage office as a staff assistant. Gabe grew up in Anchorage where he graduated from Grace Christian School. Prior to joining Murkowski’s office, Gabe worked on Murkowski’s 2022 campaign team.
Doson Nguyen joins Murkowski’s D.C. office as the new HillVets fellow. Doson has a bachelor of science from the University of North Dakota and is currently working on completing his juris doctorate from the University of Akron School of Law. Doson served as a judicial extern at the US Court of Federal Claims in D.C. prior to joining Murkowski’s office. He previously served as a fellow at the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology as well as a student director at the Akron Law Alumni Association. He is a former combat medic in the U.S. Army and a medical sectionleader with the National Guard from 2010-2018.
Aaron Stuvland, PhD, joins the office as American Political Science Association congressional fellow. Dr. Stuvland will support Murkowski’s Energy and Lands team. Dr. Stuvland teaches political science at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He previously taught in the Connecticut State Community College system and served as the managing editor for Congress and the Presidency at American University. He earned a PhD and MA in Political Science from George Mason University and a BA in Political Science from Northwest Nazarene University.
“As we kick off a new Congress, I’m proud to announce these changes to my growing team as I continue my work to represent all Alaskans. These individuals each bring unique skills, experience, and knowledge to the table, which will help us better serve the unique needs, challenges, and opportunities that we face in our state. I look forward to all the good work we have ahead and benefits it will bring Alaska,” Murkowski said.
