This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 7, 211 -WASHINGTON - Missouri's new U.S. senator, Roy Blunt, a Republican, announced his senior staff members Friday, calling the group "a great team with deep Missouri ties and valuable Senate and legislative experience."
The chief of staff, Glen Chambers, worked for 14 years on the staff of former U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who did not run for re-election to the Senate this year but was elected as the new governor of Kansas.
Chambers, a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, served most recently as Brownback's chief of staff after working his way up through the ranks of the senator's office, from mail clerk to legislative director.
Blunt's deputy chief of staff in his Washington office is Burson Taylor Snyder, who was his communications director as a U.S. House member and in his former positions as House majority whip and minority whip.
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Snyder worked as a press secretary for former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and previously as deputy press secretary for another senator after majoring in broadcast journalism at the University of Missouri.
The deputy chief of staff running Blunt's Missouri office is Brian Klippenstein, a native of Maysville, Mo., who worked for 17 years for Blunt's predecessor, former U.S. Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, R-Mo.
Klippenstein, a graduate of George Washington University, worked for five years as Bond's chief of staff and previously worked as an aide to former U.S. Rep. Thomas E. Coleman, R-Mo.
Blunt's legislative director is Brian Diffell, who had held the same title in Blunt's House office since 2009 and has worked for Blunt for a total of nine years. He had handled trade, intelligence, national security, foreign policy, and telecommunications issues in the U.S. House majority and minority whips' offices. Diffell is a graduate of the College of William & Mary in Virginia and the U.S. Naval War College.
The new senator's communications director is Amber Marchand, who had been press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Before that, Marchand had been deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee and worked in the communications operation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She majored in public relations at Pennsylvania State University.
Another former Bond staffer, Derek Coats, will be Blunt's Missouri state director. A graduate of Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Coats had worked as district office director for Bond and was director of coalitions for Blunt's Senate campaign.
In a statement, Blunt said he is "confident that this team will work tirelessly as we fight to create private sector jobs and ensure that our government isn't bigger than the people of Missouri."