LOS ANGELES—West coast public affairs firm Englander Knabe & Allen as acquired The Cherin Group. Its principal, Alex Cherin, will serve as senior vice president of EK&A and lead the firm's clean-technology and transportation groups.

Cherin comes to EK&A after building The Cherin Group over the last year and a half, providing advocacy to both emerging technology companies and private sector entities in the transportation, infrastructure and goods-movement fields.

Prior to creating TCG, Cherin served as both executive officer and managing director of the Port of Long Beach, the nation's largest seaport complex. During his tenure at the Port, he was responsible for advising the Board of Harbor Commissioners on all policy matters and was also tasked with leading the Port's strategic initiatives surrounding trade practices and infrastructure projects.