Bruce Wilson is known inside of Longfellow as an English Teacher, but before he started his teaching career, he was a lobbyist. Mr. Wilson entered his lobbying career through his degrees in political science and communications from the University of Michigan.

“When I graduated, I got a position in the White House with President Reagan doing media relations,” said Wilson. “That was how I got started in politics and made lots of connections through that job. I ended up being a lobbyist working for other organizations.”

According to Mr.Wilson, being a lobbyist is not an easy job. “There is stress related to the agenda,” stated Wilson. “The organization wants me to get new regulations and new changes, which is hard because there are always competing interests.” 

When approaching the government with new regulations or suggestions, Wilson always had to be exceptionally thorough and careful. 

“When you go to Congress and you say ‘We’d like you to change this law or help change this regulation,’ you’re trying to make a change that is going to affect everyone in the nation, and a member of Congress is going to want to make sure that you have all the data and all the information to make it clear that nobody is going to get hurt by that change,” Wilson explained.

During his lobbyist career, Mr. Wilson worked with President Reagan and President Bush, and he also lobbied for multiple organizations relating to dermatology. 

“I represented the nation’s 12,000 dermatologists for almost ten years. I actively pursued changes to the laws and regulations, allowing them to practice more effectively and provide better services to patients and get paid by the biggest payer,” said Wilson.

He also led a campaign to ensure that Medicare paid for treatment of skin lesions that had not yet become cancerous. 

“Senior citizens were put in a terrible position of seeking treatment for sores caused by the sun’s ultraviolet light, but would only find out after treatment if they would have to pay for the care out of their own pockets,” explained Wilson. “At the time, Medicare, our nation’s health care insurance program for seniors, would only pay for the care if the lesions were cancerous.”

Though he is proud of making a difference in Washington, he also feels he’s making a difference as an English teacher here at Longfellow, educating the lobbyists and lawmakers of tomorrow.