Carmencita Whonder Joins Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck's Government Relations Team.

WASHINGTON -- The law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce that Carmencita Whonder (31) has joined the firm as a policy director. Whonder will work on the government relations team in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.

As a policy director, Whonder will lead federal and state lobbying initiatives for corporations, financial institutions, non-profit groups and associations on matters relating to banking, the securities and commodities market, economic and monetary policy, insurance, CFIUS, and consumer protection. Prior to joining the firm, Whonder served as the staff director for the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation and as the principal advisor on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. During the 109th Congress, she held the position of minority staff director for the Senate Subcommittee on Economic Policy.

"My banking person is going on to other things," explained Senator Schumer at a recent Housing Subcommittee hearing on the subprime crisis (6/26/07). "Carmencita has served this Committee and me, the people of New York and America extremely well," he added.

"Rarely do you find someone with Carmencita's ambition, energy and passion for public policy," said Al Mottur, managing partner of Brownstein's Washington D.C. office. "We are pleased to add her to our growing government relations team. Her wealth of diverse experiences, including extensive time spent working abroad and in Congress, is exceptionally notable and will add significant value to our clients."

Prior to her four-year tenure with Senator Schumer's office, Whonder worked as a leadership education counselor for Gates Millennium Scholars Program/UNCF, a $1 billion initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In this position, she designed the Leadership Development Program, funding strategies and program policies and procedures.

Whonder also worked abroad in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations specialized agency, where she completed a rotational assignment in the Arbitration and Media Center and the Least Developed Countries Unit. Additionally, Whonder worked as an International Program Fellow with Ambassador Linda Tarr-Whelan, former U.S. Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, to launch an international division at the Center for Policy Alternatives.

A graduate of Howard University, Whonder holds a bachelor of arts in political science and a minor in business administration. Whonder is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Socrates Scholar at the Aspen Institute, a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and a fellow at the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership.

For more information on Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, visit www.bhfs.com.