John Stanford
Managing Partner
John Stanford is a government relations and public affairs professional with experience leading multi-year advocacy and awareness campaigns. He specializes in communicating client objectives to government stakeholders to drive policy formation.
Overview
John Stanford is a government relations and public affairs professional with experience leading multi-year advocacy and awareness campaigns. He specializes in communicating client objectives to government and private-sector stakeholders to drive policy formation.
As a partner at Prism Group, John leads Democratic lobbying and engagement at the federal level, specializing in identifying champions for pro-growth and innovation agendas. His relationships on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch build on nearly a decade of experience increasing client’s visibility and building political consensus. John has been recognized by The Hill as one of Washington’s top lobbyists and the Congressional Record, state legislatures, and chambers of commerce for his work. He also leads the firm’s global advocacy practice, which is responsible for developing and executing a broad array of strategies including third-party activation and coalition development.
John provides regular commentary on key issues around innovation and the economy, including in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, television news channels such as CNBC.
Areas of Expertise
Coalition development and management, federal appropriations, healthcare, workforce and entrepreneurship, innovation and intellectual property, cybersecurity, bilateral/multilateral trade policy, and government contracts/grants.
Experience
As part of John’s work at Prism Group, he is the co-founder of Small Business Roundtable and leader of venture capital advocacy group, Incubate. He was on the board of directors of Pass USMCA, one of the most influential organizations dedicated to ratification of the U.S. - Mexico -Canada Agreement. As a part of the trilateral negotiating round in Montreal, Canada and in testimony before the International Trade Commission, John encouraged the inclusion of entrepreneurship priorities in all trade deals and the need for strong intellectual property protections.
Before Prism Group, he worked for a Democratic House Member on Capitol Hill, the British Houses of Parliament, a Presidential and Senate campaign, and with non-profit organizations. Before coming to Washington, John committed to Teach For America in Phoenix, Arizona.
A Denver native, he is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and has a Bachelor of Arts in Government as well as a Master of Education in Secondary Education. He currently sits on the DC board of his alma mater.