Press Release - President Biden Announces 2 Key Nominees

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following leaders to serve as key leaders in his administration:

• Dara Lindenbaum, Nominee for Commissioner of the Federal Elections Commission
• Sharon Lewis, Nominee for Member of the Social Security Advisory Board

Dara Lindenbaum, Nominee for Commissioner of the Federal Elections Commission

Dara Lindenbaum is a member at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, P.C. She advises federal, state, and local political committees and candidates; ballot measure committees; 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) organizations; and for-profit corporations. She counsels clients on complying with state and federal campaign finance and election laws, and represents clients before the Federal Election Commission, federal and state courts, and state and local election boards. Lindenbaum serves as outside general counsel for a number of organizations and works with directors, boards, and staff to structure their programs and navigate the complex legal and compliance landscape.

Prior to joining Sandler Reiff, Lindenbaum was an associate counsel in the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law where she focused on election law and voting rights. Lindenbaum graduated from the George Washington University Law School and is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Georgia.

Sharon Lewis, Nominee for Member of the Social Security Advisory Board

Sharon Lewis has nearly 25 years of experience in disability policy and programs, seeking to advance opportunities, participation and equity for people with disabilities. Lewis currently works as a Principal for Health Management Associates (HMA), supporting clients working in publicly funded healthcare. Before joining HMA, Lewis served in multiple leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2010-2016, including Principal Deputy Administrator of the Administration for Community Living, Senior Disability Policy Advisor to the HHS Secretary, and Commissioner of the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. At HHS, Lewis established initiatives to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities, championed efforts to develop alternatives to guardianship, promoted Olmstead enforcement and Medicaid policy reform to ensure community integration for older adults and people with disabilities, and sought to improve support for family caregivers, among other efforts. Lewis also served on the U.S. Department of Education agency review team during the 2008 Presidential transition.

From 2007-2010, Lewis served as Senior Disability Policy Advisor to the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, and as a Joseph P. Kennedy Public Policy Fellow for the U.S. Senate HELP Subcommittee on Children and Families. Prior to her federal service, Lewis worked at the state and local level in Oregon leading public policy, legislative strategy and grassroots organizing for multiple non-profit advocacy organizations and coalitions focused on people with disabilities.