Tom Lewis became the Director of State Affairs for Johns Hopkins Institutions in July of 2005 after serving for over 17 years in Maryland state government, 11 as the top aide to two successive Speakers of the House of Delegates of Maryland.  Mr. Lewis worked on such legislative issues as economic development and environmental packages, Medicaid reform, the Thornton K-12 education reform, and several health care and health insurance reform initiatives.

Mr. Lewis left the legislature in 1987 to serve two years in the Peace Corps in Cameroon, West Africa. After returning to the U.S., he completed a Masters degree in International Management, later returning to Maryland to serve as counsel to the House Economic Matters Committee. He served in that capacity until transferring to the Speakers Office in 1994.

Mr. Lewis is a 1978 graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, with a B.S. in Zoology, he earned a J.D. degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 1982 and a Masters degree in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management in 1991. 

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Sheila Higdon is an Assistant Director for State Affairs.  Sheila came to Johns Hopkins in March 1999.  Prior to that time she held various administrative positions in the departments of medicine, surgery, and administration at Mercy Medical Center where she was employed for more than 25 years.  She earned her A.A. from Villa Julie College and her B.A. from the University of Baltimore.

Since joining the State Affairs team, Sheila has led the efforts to secure state funding for the Johns Hopkins Cigarette Restitution Fund Program.  Her additional areas of focus include capital, health care professionals, health care facilities, and long term care.

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Mathew Palmer is an Assistant Director of State Affairs, primarily focusing on higher education, economic development, transportation, and specific health care issues.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Mathew served as Chief of Staff to State Senator E.J. Pipkin for a number of years.  Prior to his work in the Maryland Legislature, Mathew served as a Senior Account Executive for a Political Marketing firm in Washington, D.C.  Mathew earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Salisbury University.

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Delora Sanchez is an Assistant Director of State Affairs.  Her primary areas of focus are health care policy, K-12 education, and employment and labor law issues.

A Baltimore native, Delora graduated from Dunbar High School and received her bachelor’s degree in Health Care Management and Administration from Towson University.  She later earned her law degree from the University of Maryland with a certificate in health law and became a member of the Maryland Bar.

Before joining the state affairs team, Delora worked within the Baltimore City Circuit Court as a law clerk.  While in law school Delora worked within the Department of Justice health care frauds division, the Maryland Attorney General’s office for the Maryland State Department of Education and with the Department of Health and Human Services on health policy issues surrounding substance abuse treatment.

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Mickey Geisler is an Administrative Coordinator with the State Affairs office.  After graduating from Annapolis High School, Mickey spent the beginning of her career working as an assistant with the Maryland Association of Counties.  She then joined the Hopkins team where she has worked in government relations for the past 12 years.

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Matt Greenwood is a Communications Specialist with the Government Affairs office and assists with a variety of issues at both the state and federal levels.  Matt joined Johns Hopkins after earning bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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