Alpaytac, a Chicago-based national communications firm, announced that Rory Davenport will manage its D.C. office and expand the firm’s public affairs practice. Davenport, who was named general manager and director of public affairs by Alpaytac, most recently served as senior vice president in the corporate and public affairs group for Ogilvy Public Relations. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president and director, public affairs for Hill & Knowlton in D.C. and as treasurer of HillPAC, the firm’s political action committee. Earlier, Davenport formed the political and international affairs group within Fleishman-Hillard’s D.C. office and he founded the grassroots and political programs practice for Edelman Worldwide, serving as its first director. Davenport also served as political coordinator for the Florida Democratic Party and as campaign manager of Dan Mica’s U.S. Senate campaign. He has also worked on two presidential campaigns – Gephardt for President in 1988 and Harkin for President in 1992 – as deputy field director and state director.

The Investment Company Institute named Matthew Beck as senior director, media relations, responsible for all media and public relations. Beck, who will serve as a principal public spokesperson for the D.C.-based organization, has extensive public relations experience in Washington. He joins ICI from the Glover Park Group (GPG), where he was vice president, strategic communications. He will report to Mike McNamee, ICI chief public communications officer. At GPG, Beck provided senior-level strategic communications, media relations, crisis, and reputation management counsel for a range of clients focused on financial services, tax, and trade issues.

The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development named award-winning filmmaker and documentarian Harjant Gill as the May Filmmaker of the Month in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  Born and raised in India, Gill studied visual anthropology and ethnographic film at San Francisco State University before pursuing his PhD in anthropology at American University. Drawing from his anthropology background, said a release, “his films explore the intersections of gender, sexuality, religion, citizenship, transnationality, and notions of belonging with a particular focus on Indian and South Asian diasporic masculinities.” He founded Tilotama Productions with a goal to create films that cast a spotlight on urgent and often overlooked social issues such as gender inequity and the rights of sexual minorities. He also is an assistant professor of anthropology at Towson University,