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Early D.C. Facebook hire departs

One of Facebook’s earliest hires in Washington, Tim Sparapani, has left the social giant’s Beltway lobbying team for undisclosed reasons, Facebook confirmed Monday.

Sparapani had served as Facebook’s director of public policy since 2009, when he joined Adam Conner, the only other Facebook employee in Washington at the time. Conner remains in his post.

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At a time when Facebook’s footprint in the Beltway is growing exponentially, Sparapani’s departure leaves a notable hole.

“Tim Sparapani decided to transition out of the company last month,” Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said in a statement.

Noyes added: “He has made a lasting impact by helping build our D.C. team and policy portfolio. We are sad to see him go, but we appreciate Tim's desire to pursue new opportunities and we wish him well.”

Sparapani did not immediately return an email or call regarding his exit.

It is unclear whether Facebook will find a replacement for Sparapani given the significant in-house restructuring the tech company has undergone, including the recent additions of Louisa Terrell and Erin Egan to the company’s public policy shop.

Sparapani arrived at Facebook after serving for years as the senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. His hire at Facebook marked an important pickup for the company, which even in its early days in Washington faced the threat of privacy regulation from Capitol Hill. Catherine Martin, another Facebook in-house lobbyist, remains on a leave of absence and was removed as lobbyist on public records, according to the company’s second quarter lobbying filing. The firm continues to list Joel Kaplan and Myriah Jordan, along with Conner, as registered lobbyists, according to public filings.

The tech company has notably increased its Washington footprint in recent months, most recently forming a federal political action committee.

Facebook spent $550,000 on lobbying during the first half of 2011 with K Street heavyweights Elmendorf Ryan and Fierce, Isakowitz and Blalock on retainer. It’s a significant uptick from the nearly $208,000 it spent during 2009, the first year it registered to lobby.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 4:39 p.m. on October 3, 2011.


Eric D. Schwerin
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eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com
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