Senator-Elect Mitt Romney announced key staff hires to serve in his Senate office.
Each new hire brings years of local, state, and national political experience that will help advise Senator-elect Romney as he serves the people of Utah.
New hires include Matt Waldrip as Chief of Staff, Kelsey Berg as Deputy Chief of Staff, Adam Gardiner as State Director, and Liz Johnson as Communications Director.
Background for each staffer is listed below:
Waldrip has been deeply involved in Utah politics since attending and graduating from Brigham Young University. He served at the helm of Romney’s successful Senate bid as Campaign Manager. Prior to joining Romney for Utah, Waldrip worked at Solamere Capital and as a Senior Advisor to Team Ryan. Waldrip has also served as Executive Director of the E2 Summit since its inception and was the Deputy Finance Director on Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Berg served as Political Director for Romney’s successful Senate campaign. Berg has years of experience working with and advocating for rural communities, first with former Congressman Jason Chaffetz (UT-03) as his Energy and Natural Resource Advisor and later with the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. In 2016, Berg was asked by Chaffetz to run his campaign and political shop. Prior to her service with Chaffetz, she worked for three years in state government affairs dealing with energy issues. Berg was raised in the gorgeous Heber Valley and is a proud graduate of Brigham Young University.
Gardiner is a veteran of Utah politics. In 2017, he was elected as the Salt Lake County Recorder, and was appointed to the Board of Directors for the National Association of Counties. In 2016, he was elected as the youngest member of the Utah State Legislature (West Jordan District 43). Prior to his time in elected office, Gardiner served as a Senior Policy Advisor on the Salt Lake County Council, a senior aide to Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01), and Campaign Manager for Bishop’s successful 2010 Congressional campaign.
ohnson is a veteran communications strategist with more than a decade of government and political experience. A longtime Senate aide, Johnson previously served as Communications Director to U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and as a spokesperson for U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). In early 2018, she served as spokeswoman for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. She most recently led the Office of Public Affairs at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Johnson graduated magna cum laude from Saint Michael’s College with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish.
