Meet Kathy
Kathy Lewis grew up in Baltimore, Md., the daughter of a firefighter and a homemaker. During her childhood, Kathy lived through poverty and gun violence, but she never allowed that hardship to stop her from pursuing her dreams. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree. Then, she went on to a successful career helping others improve their lives.
Kathy, who started her career as a financial analyst, is a writer, motivational speaker and a champion of self-advocacy and disability rights. She has served on the boards of many non-profits and community organizations, including her local chapter of the Boys and Girls Club of Tampa Bay and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Read more about Kathy’s leadership experience.
One of Kathy’s daughters was born with a disability. As a result, Kathy has spent more than 20 years advocating for her daughter and other families who have children with disabilities. When her daughter became eligible for Medicaid and other state benefits, the process of obtaining them proved difficult and disheartening. Kathy knows that thousands of Florida families go through this difficult process each year. Now with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, even more families are experiencing it. Kathy wants to put an end to the dysfunction in our state agencies.
For Kathy, advocacy is not an abstract idea. It is about making sure the people she loves have the resources they deserve. Kathy is ready to bring that fight to Tallahassee because she knows that so many other families are hitting the same roadblocks she did. These are not partisan issues and they are not Republican or Democratic issues. They are family issues that affect the people in her community.
Kathy understands the needs of Floridians. She will fight to make her district and the state of Florida a place where everyone can thrive.
Kathy and her husband, Bertram, have been married for 28 years. They and their two daughters have lived in Pasco County for 11 years.
Learn more about Kathy’s priorities.
Experience
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Founder, CEO, Author, and Speaker, My Life in My Pocket, 2007-present
Financial Analyst, Alex Brown Investments, Baltimore, Md., 1995-1996
Budget Analyst, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., 1991-1995
Financial Analyst, Martin Marietta Aerospace and Naval Systems, Middle River, Md. 1986-1991
Manager, Social Security Administration Employees Activities Association, 1981-1986
Computer Programmer, Computer Information Services, Inc., 1980-1981
EDUCATION
Concord University School of Law, completed first year 2003
Johns Hopkins University, Bachelor of Liberal Arts, 1995
Western High School, Baltimore, Md., 1979
BOARD SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP
Crisis Center of Tampa Bay’s Women in Action, Tampa, Fla., Board Member, 2016-present
Florida Children’s System of Care’s Pasco Children’s Behavioral Health Partnership, Member, 2018-present
New Horizons Group Homes, Inc., Tampa, Fla., Board Member, 2016-2017
Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, Lewis Abraham Lacoochee Club, Pasco County, Fla., Advisory Council, 2015-2017
- Campaign for Bob Blanchard Endowment
- Round-Up Fundraiser
- Volunteer Council Member
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University
- Board of Advisors, 2005-2008
- Chairperson Nominating Committee, 2006-2007
The Arc of North Carolina, Board of Directors, 2003-2005
The Arc of Durham County, N.C.
- Board of Directors, 1999-2002, 2005-2006
- Chair, Board Restructuring Committee 2005-2006
- Respite Advisory Committee, 1999-2003
Durham Academy, Durham, N.C.
- Board of Trustees, 2006-2007
- Silent Auction Acquisitions Committee, 2002
Quest, Inc., Tampa, Fla., 2011-2012
- Advocacy Ambassador
- Parent Liaison for Fundraising
Pepin Academies – Tampa Campus, Tampa, Fla., Class of 2015 Parent Representative, 2013-2015
First in Families of North Carolina, Durham, N.C., Board of Directors, 2002-2005
- Management Team, 2001-2006
- Diversity Committee, 2000-2007
Girls Empowered Mentally for Success, Inc., Tampa, Fla., Board Member, 2011-2012
Sunrise Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association, Bullhead, Ariz., Board Secretary, 2007-2008
Durham Public Schools, Surrogate Parent, 1999-2006
Durham Council for Infants and Young Children with Special Needs, Durham, N.C., 1999-2002
The Family Support Network of The Greater Triangle, Raleigh, N.C. Board of Directors, 1999-2002
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Raleigh, N.C., 1999-2000
- Transition Committee for Early Intervention to Preschool
- Interagency Agreement Review Committee
Montessori School of Durham (formerly Montessori Children’s House of Durham), Durham, N.C., 1998-2000
- Vice President, Board of Directors
- Chair, Board Reconstruction Committee
- Chair, Development Committee
- Member, Diversity Committee
On Our Own of Maryland, Inc., Board of Directors, 1988-1991