{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://courtney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-courtney-announces-congressional-office-staff-changes", "Rep. Courtney Announces Congressional Office Staff Changes", "2023-10-03", "2023", "2023-10", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Joe Courtney", "C001069", "courtney.house.gov", "courtney", "https://courtney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC\u2014Today, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-2) announced that Ayanti Grant and Maria Costigan have been promoted to Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff, respectively, after his longtime aide and Chief, Neil McKiernan, departed to purse an opportunity in the private sector at the end of September.\n\nAyanti Grant, a long-serving member of Courtney\u2019s staff and most recently the District Director, will serve as his new Chief of Staff effective October 1, 2023, and will remain based in Norwich, Connecticut. Maria Costigan, most recently Courtney\u2019s Legislative Director, will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff based in his Washington, DC office.\n\n\u201cNeil has been a force for good in the House of Representatives over these past 20 years. His institutional knowledge of Congress, his legislative skills, and his tenacity to serve the people of our district are things I hold closely. We owe a great deal of gratitude to staff like Neil who dedicate themselves and put in the legwork to advance our district and national priorities,\u201d Courtney said.\n\n\u201cI have the utmost confidence in both Ayanti and Maria as they take the helm in my office. Ayanti has been with me since I began serving in Congress. Her deep understanding of and connection to our community positions her to serve my office and our district with the excellence it demands. Maria has also been a critical member of my team whose empathy and strong understanding of policymaking has allowed me to deliver for my constituents time and time again. Together, they will be central actors in fulfilling our commitment to the Second Congressional District\u201d Courtney continued.\n\n\u201cIt has truly been a privilege to serve Congressman Courtney and the Second Congressional District for over 16 years. I am honored by his confidence in my ability to lead the office towards a new chapter of public service. With Maria Costigan as Deputy Chief of Staff, we will certainly continue to build on the legacy of the office,\u201d Grant said.\n\n\u201cI am grateful and appreciative of this opportunity to continue serving Congressman Courtney and the people of eastern Connecticut. The team he has built works every day with their priorities in mind. With his leadership and that of our Chief of Staff Ayanti Grant, we will continue to work hard and serve the district well,\u201d Costigan said.\n\n\u201cSupporting Joe\u2019s efforts on behalf of eastern Connecticut for the last 17 years has truly been an honor of a lifetime,\u201d McKiernan said. \u201cWhen Joe first brought me on to his team, he promised that we\u2019d get a lot done for eastern Connecticut and have a great time doing it \u2013 and I\u2019m so grateful that every day since has lived up to that promise. I\u2019m especially thrilled that Ayanti and Maria, who have both been instrumental partners to me over the last several years, will step in from here. Joe and the second district are incredibly well-served with these two dedicated leaders at the helm.\u201d\n\nAyanti Grant is a longtime member of Courtney\u2019s team, having worked with the office since 2007, first as a Field Representative & Caseworker focusing on immigration, then as District Director since 2014. As Chief of Staff, Grant will oversee Congressman Courtney\u2019s congressional office operations in Connecticut and Washington, DC. Grant was profiled in The Day in 2021 about her work for Courtney and the district.\n\nMaria Costigan has been part of Courtney\u2019s team since 2014, joining first as his Scheduler and Executive Assistant, then later becoming a Legislative Assistant focused on health policy in 2016 before being promoted to Legislative Director in 2020. Maria will oversee operations in Courtney\u2019s Washington, DC office as Deputy Chief of Staff.\n\nNeil McKiernan served as a Congressional staffer for 20 years. He was with Courtney\u2019s office since 2007, first as a Military Legislative Assistant supporting Courtney\u2019s work on the House Armed Services Committee before being promoted to Legislative Director in 2009 and then Chief of Staff in 2016. Before his work with Courtney, Neil was a Legislative Assistant for Congressman John Larson (CT-01) from 2004 to 2007 and a Staff Assistant for Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (CA-39) in 2003. Neil is a native of West Hartford, Connecticut, and lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife Kristen and daughters Caroline and Ellery.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:49:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://courtney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-courtney-announces-congressional-office-staff-changes"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.8027459047734737, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}