Staff

Susan Van Meter was named ACLA President in March 2022.  She previously served as Executive Director of AdvaMedDx where she directed the policy, advocacy, communications, regulatory, payment and legislative strategy and operations of the association, which represents manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) clinical tests in the U.S. and abroad.  In this role, she also developed the association’s robust response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing advocacy efforts.  Prior to her role at AdvaMedDx, Van Meter served as the Senior Vice President of Federal Relations at the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), where she was responsible for developing their priorities and strategies to further the interests of their hospital and health system members. She also previously worked in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of Legislation. Van Meter holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Villanova University and Boston University, respectively.

Joyce Gresko is an attorney in Alston & Bird’s Washington, D.C., office, where she is a member of the Health Care and Legislative & Public Policy Teams. She focuses her practice on health care regulatory, legislative and compliance matters. Her clients include clinical laboratories, durable medical equipment suppliers, hospitals, health care professional associations and other health care entities. She assists clients on a daily basis to understand and resolve issues relating to Medicare and Medicaid payment and coding, federal and state fraud and abuse laws, effective compliance programs and health care quality.

Joyce draws on her experience of more than a decade as a public policy advocate and campaign professional. She worked for Democratic candidates campaigning for President, governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House. She also held leadership positions in advocacy organizations such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Children’s Defense Fund. She is a reading mentor in the Washington, D.C., public schools through Everybody Wins! DC, and she volunteers with the College Diabetes Network and JDRF Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Chapter. She was selected by Super Lawyers to the 2014 Washington, D.C. Rising Stars list.

Cheryl Hawkins, has been employed with ACLA since June 1996. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of ACLA's Washington office, and is the primary contact for all membership and office issues. Before joining ACLA, Ms. Hawkins was a Legislative Assistant for the government affairs office of Meridian Oil, Inc from 1992 to 1995. Prior to Meridian Oil, Inc., Ms. Hawkins was a Government Affairs Assistant for the American Petroleum Institute (API) from 1985-1992.

Cheryl attended Prince Georges' Community College and the University of Maryland. She has been an active member of Executive Women International ® (EWI) since 1992, a Corporate Board member (2013-2019), and a Past Corporate President (2017-2018).  EWI's vision is to enhance professional growth and development within a diverse group of women while empowering them to make a difference as they inspire others.

Karen Lancaster joined ACLA as Associate Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs in January 2023. Karen is a seasoned communications strategist with more than 25 years of experience, with specialized expertise in health care, academia, pharma/biotech, and the life sciences. Her extensive career portfolio of strategic communications disciplines includes media relations, issues/crisis management, and patient advocacy, as well as executive and key stakeholder communications.  Karen has led several award-winning communications teams recognized for excellence in the execution of impactful, collaborative, and creative campaigns and strategies.

Karen most recently served as Assistant Vice President of External Relations at Johns Hopkins University, where she oversaw the media relations, internal communications, social media and analytics functions in the central communications office for the nine-division global research university.  Prior to her time at Hopkins, Karen was on the executive leadership team as Vice President of Media Relations and Corporate Communications at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), a 14-hospital, academically-centered regional health system. There, she co-led the joint media relations team with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and oversaw critical communications functions for the University of Maryland Medical Center, including its R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, and University of Maryland Children’s Hospital.

Karen joined UMMS from MedImmune, the global biologics unit of AstraZeneca, where she was Director of Corporate Public Relations, overseeing marketed brand, emerging brand and corporate public relations. Prior to that, she enjoyed a nine-year career with Spectrum Science Communications, one of the country’s leading independent health sciences public relations firms. She began her career in the Washington bureau of PR Newswire, where she managed media relationships and supported an account base of Washington newsmakers including Federal government agencies, policy groups, and trade associations.

Karen holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Tom Sparkman was named Vice President for Government Relations in March 2013. Prior to joining ACLA, Mr. Sparkman was a senior lobbyist at a top lobbying firm in Washington representing biotech and medical device innovators, hospitals and other providers, among others. Joining the firm in 2008, he helped build coalitions on and off Capitol Hill to achieve his client’s legislative and policy goals.

Mr. Sparkman has also held positions with the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, in addition to being a practicing pharmacist in Northern Virginia. He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Rutgers University, a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a Juris Doctor from American University and is licensed as a pharmacist in Virginia and an Associate Member of the Virginia State Bar.