About John

How many people have convinced a half dozen Members of Congress to bowl with frozen chickens for a national television audience? Or convinced the Drug Enforcement Agency to build a meth lab for a congressional hearing? Or had convicted felons disassemble an automobile in less than five minutes in front of the US Capitol? Or brought the band Pearl Jam to Congress to make their antitrust case against Ticketmaster?

John Edgell has. His ability to create television-friendly events led to network coverage that ultimately changed federal laws and regulations. He is a flack, a wonk, and a hack, with decades of experience and a unique combination of press, policy and political skills. He has authored a number of editorials, including in the Washington Post, New York Times, Atlanta Constitution, Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, and Billboard magazines.

During the Obama Administration, John served as a Senior Legislative Officer in the Department of Labor’s congressional office, where he was selected as a member of the White House Leadership Project. In the Clinton Administration, John served as a special assistant to Department of Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown, where he was detailed to work on the White House Task Force on Health Care Reform and also served as a Senior Advisor in the Economic Development Administration (EDA).

John has worked on five presidential campaigns including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Michael Dukakis, John Glenn, Gary Hart, and the vice presidential campaign staff of Geraldine Ferraro. He also worked on the successful 1986 Senate campaign of Louisiana’s longtime US Senator John Breaux and a number of congressional campaigns.

John also was an adjunct professor at George Washington University, where he co-taught a graduate-level class, “Influencing the Media,” to second-year grad students interested in careers in communications and the media.

The son of a career Air Force officer/labor organizer and a schoolteacher/retail shoe salesperson, John has a BBA in Business Administration from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.