Our Firm’s Principals
Jeffrey J. Kimbell
President
Jeffrey J. Kimbell, President of Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates, represents clients in the life sciences community seeking legislative remedies for their needs. Mr. Kimbell specializes in representing life science companies before the U.S. government. The firm provides strategic solutions to hand-selected clients seeking creation, modification, or proper implementation of public law.
Three years after establishing his firm, in January of 2001, Mr. Kimbell was named to President George W. Bush’s Transition Team Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He was the only consultant to serve on the Committee.
Prior to establishing Kimbell & Associates, Mr. Kimbell served as the first Executive Director of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) from 1994-1998. While at MDMA, he directed all Washington policy initiatives on behalf of MDMA’s member companies. During his tenure, the association grew from 25 companies to 130, an increase that can be directly attributed to a number of legislative victories, including passage of a landmark bill to overhaul the product approval process at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.In addition to the handling matters before the U.S Congress, Mr. Kimbell was also responsible for MDMA’s interaction with state and foreign governments and federal agencies of jurisdiction on tax and trade matters. In this capacity, he worked very closely with both the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). As the principal spokesperson for MDMA, Mr. Kimbell coordinated all communications with the media; the public and private financing communities on Wall Street and related venture capital firms; the U.S. Congress; the White House; HHS; and the FDA.
Prior to MDMA, Mr. Kimbell was a personal aide to former Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN) and personal attaché to former Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger in the Washington office of the Tennessee-based law firm Baker, Worthington, Crossley & Stansberry. While at Baker-Worthington, Mr. Kimbell tracked legislative activity for a host of Fortune 500 clients.
In June 2006, The Hill recognized Mr. Kimbell as one of the top lobbyists in the medical device field in its “Lobby League.” Mr. Kimbell has contributed to or been interviewed by a host of trade and global news publications and television programs: Bloomberg’s Business News, Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), Congressional Quarterly, Forbes, The New York Times, MX Magazine (also serving on their editorial board), Scripps-Howard, Reuters, Time, The Washington Post, Roll Call, Politico, The Food & Drug Law Journal, and many others. Mr. Kimbell has testified before the U.S. Congress and spoken before numerous industry groups, associations, and educational institutions, including within the last year: Harvard Business School, OCTANe Medical Device & Investor Forum, AAOS Chicago Ophthalmology Summit (ACOS), and Columbia University.
In addition to Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates, Mr. Kimbell is Managing Director of Jackalope Real Estate, LLC (Park City, UT) and President of Magnum Entertainment Group, Inc. (Washington, D.C.).
A graduate of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, TX, Mr. Kimbell earned his B.A. in Political Science. While at SMU, he worked for U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax, trade, and a significant portion of Medicare.
Mr. Kimbell is an avid sportsman; fly fishing, hunting, and skiing at locales throughout the world when U.S. Congress is in recess. Mr. Kimbell is a board member of River of Recovery Veterans Organization and serves as Chairman of the Safari Club International (SCI) Political Action Committee (SCIPAC), Chairman of the SCI Hunter’s Defense Fund (HDF), and sits on the SCI Government Affairs Committee.
jkimbell@kimbell-associates.com
Click here to download Jeff Kimbell’s bio.
Lauren Randall Buckley
Group Vice President, Health Policy & Reimbursement
Lauren Randall Buckley, Group Vice President, Health Policy and Reimbursement, has nearly a decade of experience representing biopharmaceutical, medical device, durable medical equipment suppliers, specialty and biotech distributors, hospitals, insurers and other industry clients before the Administration and Congress on a variety of federal healthcare regulatory, policy, and legislative issues.
Prior to joining Kimbell & Associates, Ms. Buckley led the federal health policy portfolio at MedImmune. Although now a biologics research and development site, during the majority of Ms. Buckley’s employment, MedImmune operated as the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, with headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland and more than 3,500 employees.
For a substantial portion of the time Ms. Buckley was employed at MedImmune, she served as the sole employee in the Federal Government Affairs department, handling all federal policy and legislative matters, overseeing the PAC and federal lobbying disclosure requirements, and operating as a primary liaison to the Biotechnology Industry Organization on federal health issues.
Ms. Buckley’s time at MedImmune provided her with helpful insights regarding the support needs of health policy clients, whether the task is developing and executing short- and long-term tactical objectives, drafting comments on federal rulemakings, staying abreast of critical policy developments, preparing white papers, or creating presentations on health policy issues for corporate executives or cross-functional teams.
Before working in-house, Ms. Buckley practiced law at Sidley Austin LLP and DLA Piper. As a senior associate in the healthcare regulatory practice group at Sidley, she focused extensively on federal policy and legislative issues. While working at Sidley, she gained significant experience representing clients from across the healthcare industry on complex federal policy issues and honed her client-service skills.
Ms. Buckley graduated cum laude from the American University, Washington College of Law. She received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing with high distinction and with honors from Penn State University.
Jodie Low Lockhart
Group Vice President, Government Affairs & Legislative Policy
Jodie L. Lockhart, Group Vice President of Government Affairs & Legislative Policy, has been with the firm since 2002. Ms. Lockhart focuses on the development, advocacy and implementation of policies on behalf of life sciences companies, through both legislative and regulatory means. She maintains strong relationships with members and legislative staff on the House Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means Committees, as well as Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) and Finance Committees. Since joining the firm, Ms. Lockhart has lobbied on a number of medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical issues, including provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA), the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act, the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), the Medical Device User Fee Modernization Act (MDUFMA), and the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA).
Ms. Lockhart served as Executive Director of the Coalition for Dialysis Patient Choice from 2005 to 2007. In this capacity she managed all federal activity for the Coalition including submitting hearing testimony, identifying sponsors and co-sponsors for legislation, and representing the Coalition in meetings with Members of Congress and their staff, as well as policy-makers within the Administration.
Ms. Lockhart previously worked in corporate communications for Healthcare Realty Trust, a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in Nashville, TN. She received her Bachelor of Science, Summa Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University with concentrations in Economics and Mathematics. She holds her Master of Public Health in Health Policy from George Washington University.
jlockhart@kimbell-associates.com
John T. Herzog
Vice President, Government Affairs & Political Strategy
John Herzog has multifaceted expertise in bio-pharmaceutical policy and a proven record of legislative accomplishments. Mr. Herzog spent more than two years in the West Wing as a part of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs during the George W. Bush Administration. He has also served as the Health Policy Aide to U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), a respected member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
Prior to joining Kimbell & Associates in 2011, Mr. Herzog was a federal lobbyist with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). In this role, Mr. Herzog advocated the company’s position on wide range of health policy issues throughout the health care reform debate and was an invaluable resource for GSK on vaccine policy and pandemic preparedness during the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic.
Mr. Herzog also has expertise in federal campaign strategy having worked on the Bob Corker for U.S. Senate campaign, the George W. Bush presidential campaign and the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Mr. Herzog is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Mississippi with a degree in psychology and chemistry.
In addition to Kimbell & Associates, Mr. Herzog is a co-founder and principal of the Capitol Entertainment Group, LLC.
jherzog@kimbell-associates.com
William Gittinger
Vice President, Coding, Reimbursement and Health Economics
Bill Gittinger joined Kimbell & Associates in 2013. Mr. Gittinger has over fifteen years of U.S. reimbursement experience representing biopharmaceutical manufacturers; medical device companies; durable medical equipment suppliers; specialty and biotech distributors; and hospitals. Mr. Gittinger has represented clients in developing overall reimbursement goals, coding and coverage strategies, and tactics to navigate the HCPCS process. He also has experience in representing investors in performing reimbursement diagnostics on potential investment opportunities.
Prior to joining Kimbell & Associates, Mr. Gittinger led reimbursement at Regenesis Biomedical, a medical technology company focused on developing and marketing noninvasive tissue regenerative medicine products. His experience includes leadership positions with Genzyme, Smith & Nephew, and Baxter Healthcare. He has a proven track record of developing contracts with payers, public and private, as well as a thorough understanding of clinical and economic data, coding, coverage and payment processes.
Mr. Gittinger graduated from the University of Cincinnati, McMicken College of Arts & Sciences with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology.
bgittinger@kimbell-associates.com
Our Firm’s Staff
Chris May
Director, Finance & Operations
Chris May, Director of Finance & Operations, joined Kimbell & Associates in September 2012 and oversees all daily operations and financial management of the firm.
Chris began his career in Washington, DC as an analyst and PAC administrator at BGR Group. He most recently was a participant in the Leadership Development Program at Lockheed Martin, where he completed rotational roles in financial planning, M&A, corporate strategy and business development for a number of product lines including Health & Life Sciences. He has led and supported projects for a number of healthcare and life sciences corporations as well as the Department of Health & Human Services, Food & Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, National Institutes of Health, and the Center for Disease Control.
He is active in Washington, DC as a member of the public relations steering committee at the L’Enfant Society, a member of the Trust for the National Mall, a member of MaverickPAC, and co-founder of the Corporate Congressional Coalition.
Chris grew up outside of New Orleans, where he became an avid outdoorsman and golfer. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, where he received a B.S. in Finance and Economics and is currently pursuing an MBA concentrating in Strategy & Public Policy at George Washington University.
Chris also oversees the operations and financial management for Magnum Entertainment Group, INC. a live music event company, and Jackalope Real Estate.
Kenneth L. Hodge
Associate Director, Government Affairs & Legislative Policy
Kenny Hodge has been with Kimbell & Associates since June of 2010 and currently serves as Associate Director, Government Affairs and Legislative Policy. Kenny assists with the legislative policy and government affairs work at Kimbell & Associates including drafting of weekly firm memos, covering Congressional hearings, analyzing specific legislation, maintaining contacts with Capitol Hill staff, and administrating the firm’s website and client portal.
Kenny has developed political campaign experience working for several Senate and Congressional campaigns during the 2010 mid-term election cycle, assisting in data collection, data analysis, policy research, and other field activities. In 2012, Kenny worked for another Senate campaign, attending county conventions and interfacing with state delegates on behalf of the campaign.
Kenny was raised in Louisville, KY and graduated from the Louisville Collegiate High School as an AP Scholar. Kenny attended the University of Kentucky, where he was a member of the men’s tennis team for three years. He finished pursuing his education at the University of Louisville with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, spending a year as the Volunteer Assistant Coach for the University of Louisville women’s tennis team.
Aubrey Beckham
Senior Associate, Health and Legislative Policy
Aubrey Beckham joined Kimbell & Associates in June of 2012 as an Associate, and currently assists both the Policy and Government Affairs Teams with health policy research, covering legislative issues, and briefing materials for clients.
Aubrey brings two years of experience in Washington D.C., most recently serving as a Government Relations Assistant at Whitmer & Worrall, LLC. Her Capitol Hill experience includes internships in both the Senate and House of Representatives, with additional health policy exposure at PhRMA and the American Osteopathic Association.
Aubrey is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Health Policy at the George Washington University. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with minors in Public Policy and Chemistry. She is a native of Greenwood, MS and resides in Washington, D.C.
abeckham@kimbell-associates.com
Gillian Hanbury
Associate, Operations and Internal Affairs
Gillian Hanbury joined Kimbell & Associates in October 2012 as an associate of operations and internal affairs. Her most previous work in Washington, DC included an internship at Susan Davis International where she was part of the events and media team.
Gillian attended West Virginia University where she served as a coxswain on the varsity women’s rowing team. While rowing in Morgantown she worked towards her bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies with focuses in Advertising, Business, and Communication.
Gillian grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she was a member of the Milwaukee rowing club for four years. Then, during her summers off from collegiate rowing, she continued to stay active in the sport. First, serving as an assistant club rowing coach, she then participated as a member of a US Rowing Development Camp two years in a row.
When not at work, Gillian can be found rowing on the Potomac, volunteering at United Way National Capital Area, or rooting for the Green Bay Packers!
John Sullivan
Intern
John began his internship at Kimbell & Associates in October 2012. He is currently a student at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, pursuing a degree in Finance and Management. Originally from New Canaan, CT, John spent his high school years assuming guard and linebacker duties for a state-championship football team, working as a caddy, and serving the community through local organizations.
In addition to his academic experience at Georgetown, John spent the Summer of 2012 in a six-week study abroad program at Oxford University’s Trinity College. While overseas, John learned critical skills from distinguished faculty in International Finance and Strategic Management, honed his croquet skills and etiquette, and developed a taste for travel and foreign culture.
An avid sports fan, John closely follows the Yankees, Jets, Notre Dame Irish and Georgetown Hoyas. He also enjoys grilling, playing golf, and the smell of freedom.
