Schakowsky Announces New Chief of Staff, Legislative Director

EVANSTON – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced that Syd Terry would be her new Chief of Staff and Kate Durkin would become her new Legislative Director. Both currently serve on her staff and are being promoted from their current roles as Legislative Director and Legislative Counsel, respectively.

"I'm very proud to promote these two outstanding and hard-working members of my team. When I took the helm of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee in the 116th Congress, it was important that I had right staff to help me get that work done. Syd Terry proved to be that person and has managed the subcommittee portfolio perfectly, along with supervising the rest of the legislative team," said Schakowsky.

She continued, "Kate Durkin joined my team in January 2018 as a fellow, and has since served as a Staff Assistant, Legislative Assistant and Legislative Counsel. On important matters including immigration, LGBTQ equality and foreign affairs, and many other areas, Kate has worked hard to advance equity and justice for all. She will now supervise my legislative team, working to advance all the issues that are important to my constituents in the 9th Congressional District. I look forward to her leadership and counsel as we work to advance the American dream."

Syd Terry has been with Congresswoman Schakowsky's office since June 2018, serving as Legislative Director. He started his career as an intern with Senators Ken Salazar and Carl Levin. He worked on the campaigns of Sen. Michael Bennet and then Mark Pocan, who was elected to the House in 2012. Syd joined Pocan's Congressional office where he served as a Senior Legislative Assistant. A native of Denver, CO, he has family ties to IL-09 and earned his B.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed his graduate course work at the U.S. Army War College.

Kate Durkin is originally from Macomb, IL. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana where she earned her B.A. and St. Louis University where she earned her J.D. Prior to joining Schakowsky's team, she interned for Illinois State Senator Mike Frerichs, served as an AmeriCorps VISTA, was a law clerk with the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and practiced criminal defense and consumer protection law.

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