CHICAGO—Brad Jaffe, a veteran crisis management and public affairs strategist, has joined Edelman as senior vice president in its Chicago crisis and risk practice, reporting to Harlan Loeb, global chair. He joins Edelman from Skelly & Monroe, a Singapore-based issues and crisis management firm, where he was founder and president and advised multinational corporations and industry associations. He has provided counsel on a wide range of issues including energy, the environment, agriculture, finance, forestry, climate change, automotive, food safety, health, insurance, transportation, litigation and international labor policy.

WASHINGTON, DC—Outreach Strategies, a communications and public affairs firm focused on advancing sustainability, clean energy and environmental solutions, has hired Angela Bonarrigo (pictured), former director of the Washington, DC, office of nonprofit organization Ceres, as senior vice president. Previously, Bonarrigo served as vice president at Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications and was a public affairs specialist at the US Environmental Protection Agency.

NEW YORK—DKC Public Relations, Marketing & Government Affairs has named Sebastian Moreira director of digital content to lead the agency's online video production services. Moreira brings more than 12 years of experience in video production. Prior to joining DKC, he served as video director at Tisha Creative, creating branded video content for clients including Bass Shoes, Henri Bendel, The SAK Brand Group, Hugo Boss, True Religion Jeans, Giorgio Burtini and BEBE. Previously, he was  senior producer for Hachette Filipacchi Media US.

LOS ANGELES—Edelman has named Sara Jones executive vice president and group head for its Los Angeles public affairs practice. Jones specializes in crisis and issues management, and joins after serving as managing director of public affairs firm Mercury, where she led crisis and litigation communications practices. Earlier, Jones was senior vice president of public affairs for Apollo Group, and worked with APCO Worldwide, Burson-Marsteller and Fleishman-Hillard.

WASHINGTON, DC—Environics Communications has hired Marla Viorst  as a senior consultant in public affairs and coalition development, bringing experience in healthcare and nutrition, sustainability and energy, consumer goods, and nonprofit sectors. Previously, she was a senior vice president at public policy firm Wexler & Walker, where she served as deputy director of the “COMPETE” coalition of energy companies, nonprofits, environmental organizations advocating for competition in the electricity sector. Viorst also worked in the Washington public affairs offices of Fleishman-Hillard and Hill & Knowlton.

OTTAWA—Hill+Knowlton Strategies has hired Jane Billings as vice president and procurement group leader and Kelly Cooper an account director in its public affairs team, and promoted Jack Hughes to lead the public affairs unit. Billings has worked for the Privy Council Office, Public Safety Canada and Public Works and Government Services Canada and is a former senior assistant deputy minister at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Prior to joining H+K earlier this year,Hughes was a lawyer with Borden Ladner Gervais, Canada's largest law firm.

AUSTIN—Brad Mays has joined Edelman’s Austin office as a senior vice president in the digital practice. In addition, Tim Hayden joins as senior vice president of mobile strategy. Most recently, Mays was global engagement practice group lead for WCG, and earlier was senior vice president at Fleishman-Hillard. Most recently, Hayden was co-founder and CMO at 44Doors, which developed a mobile marketing platform and mobile marketing services.

NEW YORK—Commit Media, a company dedicated to harnessing entertainment to create social change, has added Alissa Pinck as vice president, marketing and media, responsible for developing and implementing social impact campaigns for Commit Media clients. She was previously general manager of the New York office of the bi-coastal PR agency JS2 Communications, vice president at G.S. Schwartz & Co., and director of public relations at DIC Entertainment.