Spotlight: Tom Sheridan

Kim McCleary, Julie Gerberding (CDC) and Tom Sheridan.

Tom Sheridan can be a little spirited. In fact, he embodies the term. His master’s degree in social work makes Tom’s approach to lobbying different from his peers. He takes on causes and becomes passionately engaged. His agile mind, keen insight and firm grasp of policy and politics are tools he uses to map out strategy and develop action plans. He knows people and he knows about people. What makes them tick. What moves them to act. What puts them off. And he is tenacious. He just doesn’t
let go.

Early in his career, every cause Tom championed fell into the “underdog” category. His reputation and the success of the firm he builtbrought attention from larger, more “popular” causes. Now his client list reads like a Who’s Who of health and social service organizations.

Tom took on CFIDS advocacy issues when The Sheridan Group was run from the unfinished kitchen in his D.C. home. It was 1991 and there was very little public recognition for CFIDS, almost no research funding and downright hostility from federal health officials. Tom was quickly convinced that the poorly understood and much maligned disease warranted a more aggressive federal response and he began digging.

Things got worse before they got better, but slowly there were signs of progress. Working with The CFIDS Association, Tom’s insistence on careful research, responsible reporting and realistic requests began to pay off. CFIDS measures were included in a bill that guides priorities for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and spending on research rose. Years of painstaking documentation and analysis of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) spending reports broke open a scandal in 1998 that resulted in the return of $12.9 million to the CFIDS research program. And persistent pressure on Social Security to administer disability benefits to deserving CFIDS patients produced a 1999 policy ruling recognizing CFIDS as a disabling condition.

There were other victories too. Lobby day became an annual tradition, attracting just 3 participants the first year (1992) and more than 100 in 2003 (before Hurricane Isabel spoiled the event). The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) created a federal Coordinating Committee for CFS, later upgraded to a full advisory committee to the Secretary for Health. The Health Resources and Services Administration pioneered efforts to educate physicians about CFIDS ; this program was picked up and greatly expanded by CDC. Federal funding for CFIDS research grew from $4.8 million in 1991 to a high of $17.5 million in 2002. Tom is the first to recognize that these “wins” still leave us a long way from ideal conditions. But he is confident that the track record we have established, along with greater public recognition and improving response from the health care community, will produce meaningful results for those whose lives have been so devastated by CFIDS. Whether he’s lining up support for CFIDS research on Capitol Hill, finding common ground among cancer organizations through the One Voice Against Cancer coalition he helped build, or battling FDA not to put silicone breast implants back on the market for cosmetic use, Tom’s dedication to his work is obvious. It’s also infectious. He inspires hope and motivates action. His belief in making “the system” work ultimately overcomes what may appear to be insurmountable odds. Tom is a crusader and we are so very fortunate to have him carrying our shield.