Stephen Ham


Professional Staff Member to Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), the Senate Small Business Committee chairman.
UPCOMING EVENT
2022 Breakthrough Energetics Conference : Establishing National Advocacy and Whole of Government Approach
Bio

Steve serves as a Professional Staff Member to Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), the Senate Small Business Committee chairman. He is responsible for contracting, acquisitions, and innovation policy in that capacity. He also serves as Sen. Cardin's Senior Defense Policy Advisor, where he works on defense issues related to Maryland's defense industrial base and Foreign Military Sales.

Before that, Steve served close to 2 years as a Presidential Appointee to President Barrack Obama, serving as the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, & Technology (ASA ALT). In this role, he advised the ASA(ALT) on the development and management of Army acquisition programs, emphasizing matters that impacted Administration priorities, Congressional and media interest, intra-departmental or interagency focus, or senior Army/OSD leadership interests. He also served as a primary liaison with the Office of Chief Legislative Liaison and the Office of the Chief, Public Affairs, on behalf of ASA(ALT). Additionally, he maintained working relationships with senior Army and DOD officials regarding acquisition matters.

Previously, Steve was the Defense Policy Advisor to Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Vice-Chair of the Committee on Appropriations, and has extensive experience working in the U.S. Congress and with the Department of Defense. 

Before that, Steve worked for eight years as the Democratic Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer's top military staffer; Steve worked closely with the House Armed Services Committee and House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee on policy and funding initiatives. Responsible for all defense issues, he facilitated university partnerships and manufacturing contract opportunities with the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Special Operations Command. In addition, Steve managed policy and funding issues impacting military assets in Maryland, including the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River and the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Indian Head. During and following the Pentagon's most recent Base Realignment and Closure process (BRAC 2005), Steve coordinated efforts to support the state's military installations and National Guard mission.

In addition to military issues, Steve worked closely with congressional committees and federal agencies on legislative initiatives involving the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Food and Drug Administration, and the General Services Administration.

Steve earned his B.A. in Political Science from James Madison University, is pursuing a Masters's Degree at the Naval War College, and currently resides in Washington, DC, with his wife Elizabeth and his two Old English Sheep Dogs.