Giving Voice to Issues of State and National Importance

Published July 16, 2025

Sheila Grant chooses her words carefully.

It is a skill she honed through the MA in Public Management program at Johns Hopkins, and it has served her, the State of Delaware, and even President Joe Biden’s White House well. Though Grant is uncomfortable in the spotlight, she is grateful for the many professional experiences that have resulted from her focused pursuit of a career in government.

Growing up as a member of a politically minded family in Wilmington, Del., Grant got an early and up-close look at the inner workings of political campaigns. By age nine, she was volunteering, handing out leaflets, knocking on doors, and putting stickers on spectators lining parade routes. Her high school summers were spent on internships, and she set her sights on Georgetown University knowing that Washington, D.C., would be her destination of choice.

“I caught the political bug early and thought that I would want to run for office,” Grant said. “I figured out in college that my personality was better suited for work behind the scenes, but I really admire the folks who are willing to put themselves out there in such a rough-and-tumble business.”

Grant landed a job as a staff assistant and then legislative correspondent for then U.S. Senator Tom Carper of Delaware. In 2011, when U.S. Congressman John Carney took office, Grant moved over to the House of Representatives to work for him and the people of Delaware while she simultaneously pursued a graduate degree.

“I was at a fork in the road when I decided to enroll at Hopkins,” said Grant, a 2013 grad. “It was an exciting time, and Capitol Hill is a really energizing place. I knew that I was already on the path that I wanted to be on. It didn’t make sense to leave for grad school and then try to work my way back to D.C. So, I decided to look for a part-time program. I wanted to focus on my job, and I wanted grad school to be a value-add to that.”

Grant chose Hopkins in part because of the variety of the schedules it offered – evening, Saturday, online, and summer classes. “It was a really practical program,” Grant said. “And I had enough work experience at that point to zero in on the right classes for me. I knew where I wanted to go in my career and used my time at Hopkins to make sure I gained the skills I needed to get there.”

Grant said that her public management degree from Hopkins helped prepare her when she went on to serve as chief of staff for Congressman Carney, and later as his chief of staff when he was elected as Delaware’s governor. “Some people go about managing people and processes by gut, and that is certainly part of it,” said Grant. “But I think having the opportunity to take classes that refine your instincts is smart, and looking back, it was time well spent.”

One of Grant’s favorite classes at JHU, Negotiating as a Leadership Skill under Dr. Michael Siegel, showed her the importance of diplomacy and bringing different points of view together. Additionally, from lecturer Dr. Mara Karlin, Grant learned the value of distilling a decision and the importance of offering real options.

“More than 12 years later, I think about those classes a lot because a big part of the jobs I have been involved in has been about assessing the lay of the land and offering suggestions for what I think we can and should do and why,” Grant said. “I have seen it as my job to provide options, so that no matter whose name is on the door, they can chart a path that aligns with their principles.”

Perhaps Grant’s most fortuitous decision at Hopkins was to enroll in an elective speechwriting class with Bob Lehrman, chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore.

“I asked Congressman Carney if I could try what I was learning in class and write some speeches for him,” she said. “My day job turned out to be more on the management side of things, but I really liked using the writing side of my brain, so I hung onto the speechwriting even when he became governor.”

Eventually, Grant returned to Washington when she joined the White House speechwriting team for fellow Delawarean Joe Biden. In that role, she crafted presidential speeches on a number of technical policy initiatives including the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. The work was all-encompassing, challenging, and personally fulfilling.

Asked to reflect on her time in public service, Grant said, “I believe in our system of government. Our country only works if good people are willing to run for office and have the staff to support them. I feel really blessed to have worked for lots of good people who had the best interests of their communities and constituents in mind and were working really hard and earnestly trying to deliver on the promises they had made. Being able to be a part of efforts like that has been very satisfying.

“I certainly feel that my ability to do the various jobs I have done and to advance my career has been enhanced by ‘upping my game’ through a master’s degree,” she continued. “And I can say there is zero chance I would have been a speechwriter for President Biden if I had not taken a speechwriting class while getting my Hopkins degree.”

For now, Grant is spending time back home in Delaware. “I want to continue to be stimulated and feel like I am making a difference and working for the public good, but I am enjoying a gentler pace of life right now and am ready to take life as it comes.”