WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today announced an update to senior staff positions for his committee office.
“I am proud of the talented team I have assembled over the last two years to support me as chairman, and now ranking member of this historic committee,” said Risch. “We made significant progress in advancing U.S. foreign policy and national security priorities over the last Congress, and I am confident that these individuals will continue to ensure a standard of excellence well into the next two years and beyond.”
Chris Socha, Staff Director
Chris Socha will continue to serve as staff director. Chris has worked on foreign relations policy on Capitol Hill for more than 20 years, and has served in Risch’s Washington, D.C. office since 2009, as legislative director and senior advisor for national security. Prior to joining the Risch office, he served as senior policy advisor on defense and foreign relations issues to former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
Chris received his B.A. in political science and psychology from Miami University in Ohio. He holds an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College.
Andy Olson, Deputy Staff Director
Andy Olson will continue to serve as deputy staff director. A veteran of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has two decades of foreign policy experience in the U.S. House and Senate, including service under former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Andy also served in the Bush Administration as an Assistant U.S. Trade Representative and has spent time in the private sector. Before joining Risch’s staff, he served as senior economic advisor and treaty counsel under former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).
Andy holds a B.A. in history and political science from the University of Mississippi, a M.A. in international affairs from George Washington University, and a J.D. from the University of Missouri.
Matt Sullivan, General Counsel
Matt Sullivan will continue to serve as general counsel. Before joining Risch’s staff in 2019, he served as deputy general counsel on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services. Prior to Capitol Hill, Matt worked in the private sector at Arnold and Porter LLP. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served as a naval submarine officer on the U.S.S. Tucson, and as an instructor of political science at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Matt holds a B.S. in political science from the U.S. Naval Academy, a M.A. in government and politics from the University of Maryland, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Suzanne Wrasse, Communications Director
Suzanne Wrasse will continue to serve as the committee’s communications director. She has nearly 11 years of experience in the U.S. Senate, nine of which she has spent working for Risch. Suzanne served in the Risch personal office as press secretary and communications director from 2012-2016, and on the Senate Small Business Committee as director of outreach and policy advisor while Risch was chairman from 2017-2018. Prior to joining the Risch office, Suzanne served as deputy press secretary to former Senator and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who served as both chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Suzanne holds a B.A. in political science and communications, and a minor in Spanish language from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.
Anna Devanny, Press Secretary
Anna Devanny, who joined the committee in 2019 as press assistant and then deputy press secretary, has been promoted to press secretary. With more than three years of experience in the U.S. Senate, she previously served as deputy press secretary on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee under former Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), serving as the only full-time press staffer on the committee, and as a staff assistant in the office of former U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-Ga.).
Anna holds a B.A. in government from the University of Virginia.
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