The Dewey Square Group, the powerhouse public affairs firm with close ties to just about every important Democratic politician in the country, is expanding its West Coast operations.

Boston-based Dewey Square has hired veteran public affairs strategist Steven Gottlieb to join its San Francisco office, where he will lead the firm’s strategic communications practice for California. Gottlieb comes to Dewey Square from the Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored public policy organization in San Francisco, where he served as communications director.

Dewey Square has also opened an office in Sacramento, signaling its intention to become even more of a player in California statehouse policy and politics. Dewey Square also has offices in Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Fla.

Reproductive Rights Reinforcements. Judy Waxman has joined the National Women’s Law Center as vice president for health and reproductive rights. In that capacity, she will head a team of advocates seeking to advance women’s health and reproductive rights on a variety of fronts.

Prior to joining the center, Waxman spent more than a decade as deputy executive director at Families USA, an advocacy group. She also worked for the so-called Pepper Commission, a bipartisan commission that studied comprehensive health care issues.

A Big Name, a High-Profile Cause. Save the Children, the global nonprofit relief organization, has named Mark Shriver vice president and managing director of U.S. programs. Working out of the organization’s D.C. office, he will focus on 200 primarily isolated American communities with heavy concentrations of child poverty.

Shriver, a former Maryland state legislator, lost a high-profile bid for Congress last year when he was defeated by now-freshman Rep. Chris Van Hollen in the Democratic primary. He mainly focused on children’s issues during his two terms in the Legislature, and is the founder of a nonprofit program serving at-risk youths in inner-city Baltimore.

Shriver’s family also has a history of good works, particularly with needy children. His father, R. Sargent Shriver, headed anti-poverty programs for former President Lyndon Johnson.

Coming to Town. Fletcher & Rowley Consulting Inc., a Democratic advertising, communications and political media firm based in Nashville, Tenn., is opening a Capitol Hill office at 316 F St. NE.

“Due to our growth in corporate and political business, we need a beachhead in Washington,” said company CEO Bill Fletcher.

New Gig for Shays Aide. Aberdeen Associates Inc., a communications and government relations firm based in Greenwich, Conn., has named Peter Barhydt to be its new president.

Barhydt is a former communications director to Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who represents Greenwich. He has also been a campaign operative and has worked in the private sector for the Oppenheimer Management investment firm in New York and Broadford & Maloney Inc., an advertising agency in Greenwich.

Mind Meld at Mindshare. Mindshare Internet Campaigns, an online public affairs firm that devises Internet strategies for politicians and an array of organizations, has hired Chris Casey as a senior strategic consultant.

Casey is considered an Internet pioneer in the political world. He set up a Web site for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) way back in 1994 — the first ever for a Member of Congress, according to Mindshare — and created an online directory of Congress the same year. He is also the founder of Casey.com, a Web service business for Democratic candidates and officeholders.

His Wisecup Runneth Over. The Murphy, Pintak, Gautier & Hudome Agency, an advertising and political consulting firm, has promoted Trent Wisecup to the position of vice president. As an account supervisor for the firm in 2002, Wisecup provided strategic advice to Lamar Alexander’s (R) winning campaign for Senate in Tennessee, and he wrote and produced radio and television ads for Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.).

In 2001, Wisecup served as a copy writer for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and he has also worked on Capitol Hill, as press spokesman for former Sen. Spence Abraham (R-Mich.) and Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.).

Sterling Promotion. The Sterling Corp., a multifaceted public affairs firm based in Lansing, Mich., has promoted a senior account manager, Marshall Manson, to the position of vice president. In that role, Manson will oversee creative services and marketing for the firm and will run its office in Alexandria, Va.

During more than five years with the firm, Manson has produced award-winning political ads for Republican clients in a half-dozen states and has created brochures and promotional campaigns for corporate clients.

Carolina on His Mind. New South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), a former House Member, has tapped his former legislative aide to head the state’s D.C. office.

Scott English, who also worked for former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) and Citizens Against Government Waste, takes over for Michael Tecklenburg, who ran the Washington office under then-Gov. Jim Hodges (D).

Oops. The Jan. 30 Shop Talk reported on the departure of 19-year Hill veteran Daniel Moll from the House Government Reform Committee. But we failed to say where he was going. Moll has landed as a vice president at Bergner, Bockorny, Castagnetti, Hawkins & Brain.