Alabama-native Torrie Miller Matous, Congresswoman Martha Roby’s (AL-2) chief of staff, is moving on to an impressive new job in Washington, D.C.

On Monday, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced that Matous will head its newly formed Office of External Affairs. As director of this office, Matous will handle the workload previously split between three separate divisions – public affairs, government relations and outreach and small business liaison. She will also oversee additional responsibilities related to “the investor and business communities.”

The PCAOB plays an integral behind-the-scenes role in the nation’s economy, overseeing the audits of public companies and broker-dealers in order to protect investors and the public interest by “promoting informative, accurate and independent audit reports.”

In a press release, Matous expressed her deep-rooted commitment to helping the organization fulfill its important duties.

“A key objective of the PCAOB’s draft strategic plan is to enhance proactive communication with stakeholders,” Matous said. “I look forward to leading the newly formed Office of External Affairs as the board strengthens its external engagement to more effectively fulfill its statutory mandate.”

Matous, a Montgomery native, has served as Roby’s chief of staff since March 2017, a role in which she was the congresswoman’s top adviser and led all policy, communications and political strategy activities.

From 2014 to 2017, she was the communications director for Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), also serving as majority or minority communications director for several of his committees during that time, including the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Rules and Administration.

“Torrie brings deep experience and proven leadership from all areas of communications, government relations, and outreach, and is a welcome addition to our team,” PCAOB Chairman William D. Duhnke emphasized.

As first reported by the Alabama Daily News, Dothan-native Mike Albares has been promoted to serve as Roby’s new chief of staff. He had been deputy chief of staff since July, previously serving as her legislative director and, before that, a legislative correspondent.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn