The COSSA Staff
Howard J. Silver, Executive Director
silverhj@cossa.org
Biograhical sketch
Dr. Silver is responsible for planning and directing all programs and initiatives of the Consortium and serves as COSSA's chief lobbyist. He formerly served COSSA as Associate Director for Government Relations, a position he held from 1983 to 1988. From 1994 - 2000 he chaired the Coalition for National Science Funding. Dr. Silver was previously a consultant for legislative and political research, a political campaign manager, and a legislative analyst in the Department of Education. He taught political science and public policy at several colleges and universities. He received the Ph.D. in political science from Ohio State University.
Angela L. Sharpe, Deputy Director
alsharpe@cossa.org
Angela Sharpe is responsible for lobbying Members of Congress and their staff on health and behavior research, and representing COSSA to executive branch agencies, particularly the Department of Health and Human Services. She joined the COSSA staff in June 1995. She previously served as a legislative assistant to former Rep. Carrie P. Meek (D-FL) and to the late Rep. R. Lawrence Coughlin (R-PA). Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Ms Sharpe worked for the Library of Congress' National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. She earned her Master in Government from The Johns Hopkins University. She received a B.S. in Industrial Relations and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Julia Milton, Assistant Director of Public Affairs
jmilton@cossa.org
Julia Milton assists with COSSA's lobbying efforts and contributes to COSSA's published materials. She previously served as a Research & Editorial Assistant at The George Washington University's Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies. Julia holds a dual B.A. in Government and English from Wesleyan University.
La Tosha Plavnik, Assistant Director for Government Relations
lplavnik@cossa.org
La Tosha Plavnik assists with COSSA’s lobbying efforts where she focuses on education and social policy issues. She also handles logistics for COSSA’s Annual Meeting and COSSA-sponsored briefings. La Tosha came to COSSA from the National Humanities Alliance where she assisted with their Humanities Advocacy day. She also served as a government relations assistant at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and has provided administrative support to a number of non-profits, government relations firms, and political organizations in Washington. She began her Washington career as a policy assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus. La Tosha earned a dual B.A. in political science and advertising from Iowa State University.