Deputy policy director Dylan Marando exits PMO

Deputy director of policy Dylan Marando recently bade farewell to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office after almost two years clocking in at 80 Wellington St. Marando first joined Trudeau’s office as a senior policy adviser in March 2021 and was promoted to deputy director roughly one year ago. He officially switched to post-employment status as of Dec. 30, 2022. Marando began working on the Hill in September 2016, starting as a senior policy adviser to then-families, children, and social development minister Jean-Yves Duclos. In April 2018, he was elevated to director of policy to Duclos. A former Queen’s Park staffer, Marando's past roles at the provincial legislature include as a special assistant to then-Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty and a senior adviser to then-premier Kathleen Wynne. Allie Chalke continues as a deputy director of policy in the PMO—a title she’s held since February 2022. John Brodhead is director of policy and cabinet affairs to Trudeau and oversees a team that includes: senior policy advisers Jim Kapches, Tony Maas, Dani Saad, Katherine Koostachin, Rebecca Caldwell, and Laura LeBel; policy advisers Oz Jungic, Lionel-Fritz Adimi, and Nathalie Gahimbare; policy adviser and senior co-ordinator Harry Orbach-Miller; and co-ordinator Kristina Slodki. In other PMO news, issues management and parliamentary affairs adviser Mary-Liz Power announced her last day on the job on Twitter on Jan. 20. “After nearly two years, a pandemic, and a few pieces of legislation, today is my last day at the Prime Minister’s Office,” she wrote. “What an amazing privilege to work with such bright and motivated people. I’m so grateful to all my colleagues, the public service, and @JustinTrudeau for your confidence and your support.” Power originally joined the PMO as an issues adviser in the spring of 2021, after almost a year and a half as press secretary to then-public safety and emergency preparedness minister Bill Blair. (The portfolio was split after the 2021 election, with Blair now minister for emergency preparedness.) Before coming to Parliament Hill to work for Blair in early 2020, Power was strategic communications and engagement lead for the Ontario Liberal Party. Like Marando, she’s also spent time at Queen's Park, as a former assistant to then-Ontario Liberal MPP Nathalie Des Rosiers and then-Ontario housing minister Peter Milczyn. Policy staff changes for Health Minister Duclos Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos speaks with media about the government's COVID-19 response in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building on Jan. 20. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has made a couple of tweaks to his policy staff roster of late, including giving director of policy Jean-Sébastien Bock the added title of deputy chief of staff. Bock has been working for Duclos since his turn as president of the Treasury Board, having started in that office as a senior policy adviser after the 2019 federal election. He was promoted to director of policy in 2021, and after that year’s election, Bock followed Duclos to the health portfolio. Jean-Sébastien Bock is now deputy chief of staff and director of policy to Duclos. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn A former funding and private partnerships co-ordinator for Montréal International, since coming to work on the Hill in early 2016 Bock has also held roles as: a policy adviser and special assistant to National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier, a Quebec regional affairs adviser to then-employment minister Patty Hajdu, and as an operations and policy adviser to then-finance minister Bill Morneau. Senior policy adviser Sandenga Yeba was recently promoted to the title of deputy director of policy to the health minister. A former senior policy and Quebec regional affairs adviser to Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Yeba has been working for Duclos since January 2022. Sandenga Yeba has a new title in Duclos' office. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn Yeba was an economic and commercial development adviser to Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante before joining Bibeau’s office in the summer of 2020. He’s also a former adviser to then-Quebec economic development minister and deputy premier Dominique Anglade and has worked as a co-ordinator with Montréal International. Jill Pilgrim has returned to life as a political staffer and started on the job as a senior policy adviser to Duclos on Jan. 18. Pilgrim previously worked on the Hill from 2017 until the end of 2021. Starting as an assistant to now-Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings as the Liberal MP for Long Range Mountains, N.L., in early 2019, Pilgrim landed a job as Atlantic regional affairs adviser in Duclos’ office as then-families minister. Jill Pilgrim is now a senior policy adviser to the health minister. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn After the 2019 election, Pilgrim moved over to Employment, Workforce Development, and Disability Inclusion Minister Carla Qualtrough’s team as a policy and Atlantic regional affairs adviser, later dropping her regional duties to focus on policy at the start of 2021. She left the Hill after the 2021 federal election and spent most of 2022 as an articling student with Abergel Goldstein & Partners LLP in Ottawa, having previously studied law at the University of New Brunswick. Duclos’ policy team also currently includes advisers François-Olivier Picard, Nathanielle Morin, Jed Graham, Jordan Ames-Sinclair, and Stephanie Claxton. Shanzae Khan is covering Duclos' Ontario desk. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn Shanzae Khan is another new face on Duclos’ team. She was hired as an Ontario regional affairs adviser at the beginning of January. Khan spent the last three-and-a-half years working for the federal Liberal Party, where she was first hired as a deputy field organizer in the fall of 2019, during that year’s federal election, after completing a summer internship. After the election, she stayed on as a field organizer, and subsequently worked her way up to senior field organizer, senior field co-ordinator, and most recently senior manager for the national field. Previously, Claxton covered the Ontario desk for Duclos, in addition to her policy duties, but she dropped the former to focus on the latter at the end of last summer. Jamie Kippen is chief of staff to the health minister. lryckewaert@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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Deputy policy director Dylan Marando exits PMO

Meanwhile, Sandenga Yeba has been promoted to deputy director of policy to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, who has a couple of new faces in his office.

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