K&A Corporate Overview

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.

In addition to 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 and his wife Jessica are avid sportsmen; fly fishing, hunting, and skiing at locales throughout the world when U.S. Congress is in recess.

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 impacting the life sciences industries, 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. 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 is currently seeking her Master in Public Health in Health Policy at George Washington University.

Tamar R. Thompson
Group Vice President, Valuebased Purchasing & Health Policy

Tamar Thompson is a health policy and reimbursement strategist with extensive experience working with governmental agencies, private payers, Congressional leaders, and patient advocacy groups to improve patient access to existing and new medical therapies. She has more than 10 years of leadership experience in health care, including the ability to develop strategic and execute tactical recommendations to ensure optimal reimbursement for innovative technologies.

Prior to joining Kimbell & Associates, Ms. Thompson was a senior manager at Avalere Health, where she managed a diverse portfolio of clients, including medical device, biotech, pharmaceutical, and specialty drug companies. Preceding her work with Avalere, Ms. Thompson was Director of Health Policy & Reimbursement at Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (MIP), a Kimbell & Associates client.

At MIP, she was charged with developing and launching reimbursement strategy for cutting-edge molecular diagnostics & therapeutic drugs. In addition to Ms. Thompson’s industry experience with companies such as Bracco Diagnostics and GE Healthcare, she has worked for both private and federal health systems and served as the director of claims operations for a Humana subsidiary.

Ms. Thompson is a graduate of Trident University, an academic institution for military members. She holds an M.S. in Health Sciences with a concentration in Public Health. She also holds a certifcation from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) as a Certifed Coding Specialist (CCS) and Certified Coding Specialist – Physician Based (CCS-P). Ms. Thompson currently serves as co-chairman for the Women in Government Relations (WGR) health and social policies task force.

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 as a liaison between the President and the Congress 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 Republican leadership team and 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 healthcare 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 and the 2008 Republican National Convention. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Mississippi with a major in psychology and a minor in chemistry.

In addition to Kimbell & Associates, Mr. Herzog is a co-founder and principal of the Capitol Entertainment Group, LLC. Mr. Herzog is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Mississippi with degree in psychology and chemistry.

Our Firm's Staff

Kyle Manning .|. Kenny Hodge .|.Trent Hartwig.|. Joe Fawell

Kyle Manning serves as Senior Manager of Operations and Finance and has been with the firm for over two years. Mr. Manning oversees the day to day operations and financial management of Kimbell and Associates.

Mr. Manning previously served on the Communications and Marketing Department staff of the Heritage Foundation, where he was responsible for developing a number of policy papers, press releases and administration of one of their policy Blogs. Mr. Manning has also served on the staff of the Courier-Journal in Louisville, KY and the Tennessee Titans Football Organization, overseeing operations at both organizations.

Mr. Manning spent time working for several Senate campaigns during the 2010 mid-term election cycle, assisting in data collection, candidate outreach programs, data analysis, policy research, and other field activities.

Mr. Manning graduated from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he received his B.A. in European History while also accumulating a German Minor. He is still active with the University, serving on the Student Alumni Leadership Council. Kyle is a member of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, a Transatlantic Young Political Professionals Program. Kyle also runs the finances and operations for Magnum Entertainment Group, INC. a live music event company. In his free time Kyle enjoys winter sports, cooking, designing t-shirts and enjoying Washington, DC.

Kenny Hodge has been with Kimbell & Associates since June of 2010 and currently serves as Senior Manager, Government Affairs and Legislative Policy. Kenny assists with the health policy and government affairs work at Kimbell & Associates, and is responsible for the drafting of weekly firm memos.

Kenny spent time 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. Kenny has previously managed a small restaurant franchise and was a former tennis teaching professional at the Louisville Boat Club in Louisville, KY.

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.

Trent Hartwig currently serves as Senior Manager of Reimbursement and Health Policy for Kimbell & Associates. Trent is responsible for maintaining constant oversight of health policy action in D.C. while also drafting weekly memos for our clients and facilitating communication with multiple agencies on their behalf.

Trent brings strong provider experience to Kimbell & Associates, having worked first-hand with Medicare physicians, beneficiaries and health systems in Houston with Clinic Resources Management, Inc. Previously, he served two years at Merrill Lynch & Co. managing institutional wealth accounts, including one of Texas’ largest health systems.

Trent received a Masters in Applied Economics from the University of Houston and Bachelors in Economics from Michigan State University where he focused the majority of his work analyzing the impacts of healthcare legislation on stakeholders. Trent has at all times been very active in healthcare policy, especially in the mental health space, as a member of several national health policy and mental health associations across the country. He has worked closely with these groups in efforts to educate the public on key issues of mental health and to effectuate corresponding policy changes on both state and federal levels.

Trent is a founding board member of America’s Next Impact and member of MaverickPAC – coalitions of young leaders in business and politics. Often found on his family’s ranch in Texas or fly fishing and hunting throughout North America, Trent is relentlessly in search of an outdoor adventure.

Joe is a recent graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who began his internship at Kimbell & Associates in September of 2011. In addition to graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, Joe held many roles throughout college including radio DJ, project manager at Suburban Bank & Trust and Intern at the United States Embassy in Oslo, Norway. Most recently Joe was the Senior Manager of Star Course, a student run concert promotions and event management firm.

After graduating college, Joe moved to Washington D.C. where he interned first in the office of Congressman Aaron Schock (IL-18). From there he moved onto the office of Senator Mark Kirk (IL), and finally Joe ended his time on the Hill at the office of The Chief Deputy Whip, Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-06).

Hailing from the suburbs of Chicago, Joe is an avid hockey player and life long fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. When he is not at work or an ice rink, Joe enjoys travelling, going to concerts and exploring his new hometown, Washington D.C.

Our Firm's Principals

Jeffrey J. Kimbell .|. Jodie Low Lockhart .|. Tamar R. Thompson .|. John T. Herzog

Jeffrey J. Kimbell

Our Firm's Staff

Kyle Manning .|. Kenny Hodge .|.Trent Hartwig.|. Joe Fawell