BROWN TAKES PUBLIC AFFAIRS POSITION WITH IIABA
Former Capitol Hill Press Secretary Has Media Background
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec.15 -- Cliston L. Brown has been named manager of public affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America.
Brown comes to the Big “I” after two years as director of communications for Congressman Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), a senior House Appropriations Committee member. His combination of Capitol Hill experience and seven years as a newspaper and magazine reporter makes him an excellent fit to expand and enhance IIABA’s outreach to inside-the-Beltway and national media.
“I am very confident that Cliston will be an excellent addition to our team,” says Jeffrey A. Myers, IIABA Vice President of Communications. “He has a very strong résumé, and he comes to us highly recommended. His wealth of experience as a journalist gives him terrific insights into how to work most effectively with the news media. We believe he will do great work for us.”
“We are very happy to have Cliston as part of the Big ‘I’ team,” says IIABA CEO Robert A. Rusbuldt. “He has a very strong background, tremendous communication skills, and a solid track record. I am very impressed with his talent and enthusiasm. I expect he will do a great job promoting our legislative message on Capitol Hill and to our members.”
Brown primarily will focus on communicating IIABA’s positions on a range of legislative concerns to independent insurance agents and brokers. He also will assist with Trusted ChoiceSM, the new consumer marketing brand for IIABA members; and the association’s Web site, among a number of other areas.
Brown, originally of Indiana, moved to Washington in October 2001 to work for Rep. Visclosky. Previously, he worked as a reporter covering intellectual-property law for Chicago-based Corporate Legal Times magazine from 2000 to 2001, and also for The Times of Northwest Indiana, the state’s second-largest daily newspaper, from 1995 to 2000. He graduated from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind., in 1994.
Founded in 1896, IIABA is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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