Robin Shaivitz looks forward to the legislative session in Annapolis like a kid waits for summer camp.
“It?s like returning to camp and seeing your old friends,” she said. “This year there were so many new faces and new people to meet, everyone was very enthusiastic about their first summer at camp.”
Shaivitz has attended “camp” for nearly 30 years, for the past nine years as a contract lobbyist with Annapolis law firm Alexander & Cleaver. The firm?s clients have included Verizon and the Health Facilities Association of Maryland.
“I am always learning something new or working on new issues and areas of interest,” she said. “There is a lot of policy and a lot of politics in what I do, and they are equally important.”
Some of Shaivitz?s past successes include lobbying to pass a required health insurance benefit for mammography, and years later, working on a mandate for female contraceptive coverage, she said.
Before joining Alexander & Cleaver, Shaivitz ran her own business.
“I started my business because I couldn?t get to work on time,” she said. “As my children got older, I wanted to control my own schedule.”
“It?s not just Robin?s ability to make the argument,” former Maryland Sen. Paula Hollinger said of her success. “She also has the quality of being able to maintain a marriage and a family and has time for volunteer work. She has never lost those personal qualities that makes someone special.”
Shaivitz mentored Kelley Ray at Alexander & Cleaver before Ray went on to work at HFAM as vice president of government relations.
“Robin taught me to listen and then, maybe, speak,” she said, emphasizing “maybe.”
“When you are a lobbyist, you serve your client, but you?re working with individuals who have been elected for a reason,” Ray said. “You need to listen to what they are saying and piece it all together. Robin can process that very quickly.”
Although Shaivitz certainly is passionate about what she does, she can leave her own beliefs at the door.
“For me it?s not the issue so much, it?s the process,” she said. “I get to work side by side with some talented people, and from a process standpoint, that is really fun.”
