Longtime federal health policy leader Cybele Bjorklund has been appointed vice president for federal strategy, a new position for Johns Hopkins University and Medicine. She joins the university March 1 and will be based in Washington, D.C.
Image caption: Cybele Bjorklund
A Johns Hopkins alum, Bjorklund has spent more than 20 years on Capitol Hill shaping some of the most complex and politically challenging health policy issues of our time. She held senior roles in both the U.S. House of Representatives and in the Senate, and she'll bring her experience in federal policymaking to help Johns Hopkins bolster its presence in Washington.
"Cybele will work with me and leaders across Johns Hopkins to anticipate and navigate the challenges of our ever-changing federal policy landscape," said Ronald J. Daniels, president of the university. "An accomplished and highly regarded leader on Capitol Hill, Cybele has the deep experience and broad perspective Johns Hopkins needs on the ground in Washington."
Bjorklund will report to both Daniels and Paul B. Rothman, dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and serve as Johns Hopkins' strategic expert for federal legislation, policy, and politics.
"Johns Hopkins brings enormous intellectual capital to a wide range of critical policy topics," Bjorklund said. "Working with President Daniels, Dean Rothman, the federal team, and university experts, I look forward to helping advance the university's priorities while increasing our engagement with policymakers and others to tackle the tough issues of today and the future."
Currently a strategic consultant, Bjorklund is also a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's School of Public Policy, and a distinguished visitor at the Georgetown University Law Center.
"Cybele Bjorklund is exactly the right person to fill this new position," Rothman said. "She brings a wealth of insight and knowledge, and she will certainly help Johns Hopkins navigate the complex issues and questions we face every day in Washington and beyond. I am very excited for her to join our already talented government affairs team."
Before becoming a consultant, Bjorklund served as vice president and head of global policy for Sanofi, a multinational pharmaceutical company, and on the health advisory board for APCO Worldwide.
In Washington, she served for nearly 15 years as the staff director for the Ways and Means' Subcommittee on Health, shaping Medicare policy and the Affordable Care Act, among other legislation. She served for four years as Sen. Edward Kennedy's deputy staff director for health policy on the HELP Committee, guiding the development and enactment of the state Children's Health Insurance Program and other legislative priorities. Prior to that she worked for two years as a legislative aide on health and veteran's issues for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle.
She received her master's degree in health science from Johns Hopkins in 1995.
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