Office of the Vice President

Maria Harris Tildon

Vice President of State and Local Affairs

Maria Harris Tildon is a highly respected public policy and government affairs expert who joined Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine in April, 2022 as the Vice President of State and Local Affairs.  Ms. Tildon leads Johns Hopkins’ legislative and regulatory agenda in Maryland, throughout the Washington, D.C. region, and in Florida. She heads up efforts to build and strengthen the Johns Hopkins’ relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, policymakers, business and community leaders, and neighborhood residents.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Ms. Tildon held progressively senior leadership roles with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the largest health insurer in the Mid-Atlantic region. Most recently she served as executive vice president, public policy and government affairs, a position that involved leading all local, state, and federal public policy, legislative and regulatory affairs. In her time at CareFirst, she was responsible for managing marketing, internal and external communications, product development and lifecycle, and community investments and volunteering.

Prior to joining CareFirst, Ms. Tildon was senior vice president for external affairs for the Century Council, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing policies and programs to address underage drinking and drunk driving. Her previous professional experience includes serving in several senior roles in the Clinton administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as practicing law at Venable, LLP.

In addition to being a highly respected public policy and government affairs expert, Ms. Tildon serves on a number of boards of local companies, including BGE, an Exelon Company, Chesapeake Insurance Company, Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women (“BLSYW”) and Health Care for the Homeless, among others. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Boston University and Juris Doctorate from American University, Washington College of Law. She is a Member of the Maryland and District of Columbia Bar Associations.

Netsanet Kibret 

Chief of Staff to the Vice President

Previous to joining Johns Hopkins, Netsanet served as the Deputy Secretary for the Maryland Department of Human Services, overseeing social services programs that provided over a million Marylanders with essential government support. Prior to that she served as Executive Director for the Family Investment Administration, where she was responsible for various assistance programs run by the Maryland Department of Human Services. Netsanet brings a wealth of government affairs experience having represented the interests of the Department of Human Services in Annapolis, and prior to that a stint working for a leading regional environmental nongovernmental organization in Ethiopia. She began her career in the Maryland General Assembly as both a legislative counsel and senior policy analyst.  Netsanet is a magna cum laude graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Boston University School of Law. 

Antella "Kiobie" Rice 

Executive Specialist to the Vice President

Leslie Ford Weber

Director of Government and Community Affairs, Johns Hopkins in Montgomery County, and Federal Strategy

For the past 20 years, Leslie has lived and worked in Montgomery County and as a result, has established personal and professional relationships with local government and community organizations. Leslie represents both the university and the health system in their interactions with Montgomery Country elected officials, the business community and other external organizations.  She is also part of the Johns Hopkins Federal Strategy team.  Before joining Government & Community Affairs at Hopkins, Leslie held a dual role as Executive Vice President of the Suburban Hospital Foundation and Senior Vice President of Government and Community Relations for Suburban Hospital. She is active with the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce;  Montgomery Women; a past chair of the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce; and a 2007 Leadership Montgomery core program graduate. 

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Rayna Smith

Associate Director of DC Government Affairs, Sibley Memorial Hospital/Johns Hopkins University

Rayna joins The Johns Hopkins University and Health System in a role that will extend and strengthen the legislative and public policy impact in the District of Columbia. Prior to Johns Hopkins, Rayna served as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services for the District of Columbia, where she was responsible for supporting the mayor in coordinating a comprehensive system of benefits, goods, and services across multiple agencies to ensure that children and adults can lead healthy, meaningful, and productive lives. Some of the major agencies under her purview included the Department of Health, the Department of Health Care Finance, and the Department of Behavioral Health. Prior to that position, Rayna served as the Director of the Committee of Health for the Council of the District of Columbia where she was responsible for working with council members and their staff to develop legislation that impacted the city’s health sector. Rayna earned her J.D. from Howard University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from Temple University.

Visit the Sibley Memorial Hospital Community Health Page to learn about their community programs.

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