NEW YORK — National grassroots public affairs, public education and corporate reputation firm Direct Impact has announced the appointment of Michael Fleischer as president and general manager. He will oversee the firm's work in building localized campaigns for clients seeking to mobilize communities around a host of public affairs, advocacy and corporate reputation issues. Prior to this, Fleischer was a vice president at Lighthouse Consulting Group, a boutique firm specializing in environmental issues. Before that, he was vice president of public affairs at Widmeyer Communications. 

WASHINGTON, DC — The Glover Park Group has welcomed Joel Leftwich to its government relations practice as a managing director. He will provide strategic and policy counsel to clients and will be a key member of GPG Food, the firm's food and agriculture practice. Leftwich has worked in DC for over a decade, and most recently spent two years as the republican majority staff director for Senator Pat Roberts on the US Senate Committee on agriculture, nutrition and forestry. He also has private sector experience, including serving over two years as senior director, public policy and government affairs at PepsiCo. 

WASHINGTON, DC — SKDKnickerbocker has hired Oren Shur, former director of paid media at Hillary Clinton for America and director of independent expenditure at the Democratic Governors Association, as senior vice president and political director. Over the last 15 years, Shur has served as a top strategist on some of the most competitive campaigns, including high profile senate, gubernatorial and presidential contests. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Highwire PR has named Greg Chiemingo senior vice president at its San Francisco office. He has over two decades experience in storytelling and communications with leading technology brands. Chiemingo has been in technology since the early years of online gaming and has kept a focus on disruptive technologies. He served as senior director of communications at Evernote and prior to that, spent nearly eight years at Waggener Edstrom as vice president and then senior vice president. 

PITTSBURGH — Havas PR has added three new team members to its Pittsburgh office. Deanna Tomaselli has joined as account supervisor, while Catherine Clements and Megha Pai join as fellows. Tomaselli will contribute to several key accounts, including Transitions Optical, International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association, and LivaNova. Meanwhile, Clements will support public relations and media relations efforts for clients including MilliporeSigma and Sodexo and Pai will support clients including Bayer AG and Covestro. 

NEW YORK — PROI Worldwide has appointed new vice chairs in its APAC, Americas and EMEA Regions. Lisa Ross, president and partner of PROI Worldwide Agency rbi Communications was appointed vice chair in the Americas Region; Lena Soh-Ng, senior parter of PROI Agency Huntington was appointed vice chair in the APAC region; and Henning Sverdrup, partner of PROI Agency Slager Kommunikasjon in Norway, was re-appointed vice chair of the EMEA region. 

NEW ORLEANS — Worldcom Public Relations Group has named Chris Costello as group treasurer of the global board during the organization's annual conference in Hong Kong. Costello is CFO and partner at Deveney. In his new role, he is responsible for the overall financial health of the group and oversees daily accounting needs, management of external accounting firm, and financial strategy of the organization. 

NEW YORK — Property PR and marketing specialist the Oracle Group has made changes to its management team along with a refresh of its signature logo. Caroline Coskry, who founded the business in 2011, is now the company's chief executive. Zoe Murzell is now managing director of PR and events, and Jaclyn Thorburn has become managing director of digital and marketing. 

ALEXANDRIA — International public affairs firm the Hawthorn Group LC has announced the appointment of Steven Cohen as vice president. Cohen, a political campaign, state policy and media relations expert, has over 15 years of experience in public affairs. He most recently served as a consultant to DDC Advocacy and the Advocacy Group on energy, defense and tax issues. Cohen also worked on the 2016 re-election of Senator Kelly Ayotte and has also worked with APCO Worldwide on legal reform issues.