Partners
| Patrick L. Harrington | Jon Smalley | Sandra J. Lewis |
Patrick L. Harrington
Patrick L. HarringtonPat Harrington, co-founder and partner in MHSA, has an extensive background in insurance, environmental, legal, corporations, economic development and business strategy issues. As a lobbyist, Pat was instrumental in the planning, development and passage of four historic pieces of legislation: the financing of the $400 million Cobo Hall Exhibition Center expansion project for the City of Detroit; the $225 million Wayne County Solvency Act, which averted the bankruptcy of Michigan’s most populous county and established the state’s largest indigent healthcare program; the creation of the Wayne County Stadium Act, which established a financing vehicle for a professional sports facility; and the recent enactment of a comprehensive water withdrawal statute for Michigan.
Pat quarterbacked MHSA’s strategic partnership with Nestlé Waters North America Holdings Inc. to site a $100 million Ice Mountain spring water bottling facility in West Central Michigan. This is another example of MHSA’s successful balancing of economic development with environmental concerns.
At age 24, Pat was one of the youngest persons to be elected to the Michigan Legislature, representing with distinction Monroe County’s 39th district. Pat was a key player in the 1981 and 1982 successful effort to reform Michigan’s Workers Compensation and Unemployment laws. Pat was a successful lobbyist for ten years prior to forming MHSA.
Pat holds a bachelor’s degree with high honors from Michigan State University and a law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He has been licensed to practice law in Michigan since 1983 and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. Pat is also Chairman of the Board and member of the Finance Committee of Michigan State University’s Michigan Political Leadership Program, the largest multi-partisan leadership training program in the nation.
Jon Smalley
Jon Smalley has worked at MHSA since 1991 and became a partner in the firm in 1995. Jon has spent his entire career working in “the process,” specializing in appropriations and legislative matters.
Prior to working at MHSA, Jon served as Chief of Staff to the Senate Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittees overseeing Medicaid, Mental Health and Human Services.
Jon has been instrumental in numerous landmark pieces of legislation, including the Juvenile Justice Block Grant, the 1995 re-write of the Mental Health Code, establishment of charter schools, repeal of the residency requirements for police officers and firefighters, and Single Business Tax Reform. In addition, he was actively involved in two significant construction projects funded in part through state resources: Comerica Park and the Northwest Airlines World Gateway Center (Midfield Terminal).
Jon holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration from Central Michigan University. He is a member of the American Society of Public Administrators, the Michigan Historical Society, the American Motorcycle Association and is a board member at the Greater Lansing Amateur Hockey Association (GLAHA). He has been active with many local charities, including St. Vincent De Paul Home, the American Heart Association, the Lansing Youth & Recreation Fund, the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing and Food Shelters in Lansing and Detroit. He is also active as a coach in youth hockey and baseball programs.
Sandra J. Lewis
Sandra J. Lewis
slewis@mhsa.com
Sandi Lewis joined MHSA in 1996 and became a partner in 2003. She adds nearly 15 years of governmental and community relations experience to the MHSA team and is considered one of Lansing’s top ten lobbyists. Specializing in appropriations, judiciary, mental health, long term care, law enforcement, criminal justice, and education issues, Sandi thrives on influencing change in the legislative and regulatory process.
Sandi holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Marketing and a Master’s in Public Administration, both from Western Michigan University. She holds the distinction of being the only female ever to have served as the president of the student body at WMU. Sandi is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Alpha Alpha National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration, the Michigan Political History Society, and the American Society for Public Administrators.
In addition to her education-related organizations and associations, Sandi is a member of the March of Dimes Board of Directors, the Michigan Society of Association Executives, the Michigan Fraternal Order of Police, and the Children’s Trust Fund. She is currently Chair of the Public Affairs Committee for the Michigan Chapter of the March of Dimes. She has helped build homes for Habitat for Humanity and participates in the Michigan Youth Leadership Forum, a program to introduce high school students with disabilities to state government.