Bruce Lesley President

Mr. Lesley has more than 30 years of public policy experience at all levels of government and a demonstrated commitment to improving the lives and well-being of children. Lesley has served for 13 years as the president of First Focus on Children and directs policy development and internal operations at the organization. He also serves as an assistant high school girls basketball coach in Montgomery County, Maryland.

During his 12 years on Capitol Hill, Lesley worked on health care, education, human services, and immigration issues in several different capacities. Prior to his work at First Focus on Children, he served as Senior Health Policy Advisor on the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees for U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman. He also worked for U.S. Senator Bob Graham on the Senate Finance Committee, served as minority Chief of Staff for the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and was a legislative aide in the offices of U.S. Representatives Ronald Coleman and Diana DeGette.

In addition to public service at the federal level, Lesley worked at the state and county levels of government on health and human services policy for Texas State Representative Mary Polk, El Paso County Judge Pat F. O’Rourke, and Texas Governor Ann Richards in the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations in Washington, D.C.

Lesley has also worked in the healthcare sector as the Director of Congressional Relations for the Children’s Hospital Association (also known as the National Association of Children’s Hospitals) and as Director of Government Relations for University Medical Center, a public hospital in El Paso, Texas.

Lesley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland University College, in College Park, Maryland. He also attended the University of Texas at El Paso and University of Texas at Austin.

Bruce resides in Maryland with his wife and has four adult children.

Resources by Bruce Lesley


Recognizing Children in the Debate Over Education and Schools

| March 31, 2023 |

As a child advocate, it is deeply frustrating to people in our community that issues of great importance to children, such as education, are


While Many Politicians Are Focused on Book Bans, Kids Are Dying

| March 30, 2023 |

Education is a children’s issue. Unfortunately, far too often, lawmakers ignore the needs, concerns, and best interests of children when making policy on education


Testimony: House Judiciary Committee Hearing on “Free Speech: The Biden Administration’s Chilling of Parents’ Fundamental Rights”

| March 22, 2023 |

Today, First Focus on Children submitted the following statement for the record to members of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. Excerpt


Our Kids Need and Deserve Champions

| June 2, 2022 |

First Focus Campaign for Children just released our 2021 Champions for Children Legislative Scorecard, which analyzed the sponsors of over 300 pieces of legislation


Statement for the Record: Free Speech Under Attack — Book Bans and Academic Censorship

| April 12, 2022 |

Bruce Lesley submitted this testimony for the record to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties regarding


Letter: Urging the White House to Celebrate Children’s Week

| March 21, 2022 |

First Focus on Children sent the following letter to President Joe Biden as well as Vice President Kamala Harris inviting them to celebrate Children’s


A Senate Majority Is Allowing Child Poverty to Nearly Double

| January 6, 2022 |

Former Secretary Robert Reich asks a very important question: Why has America chosen to dramatically reduce poverty among the nation’s elderly but not among our children?


Parents Want a Forward-Looking Children’s Agenda, Not Book Bans

| December 5, 2021 |

There is no doubt that parents are frustrated, overwhelmed, and at wits’ end after nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and a rough


On World Children’s Day, Has the US Made Progress on Children’s Rights?

| November 20, 2021 |

Today is World Children’s Day, first established by the United Nations in 1954 to celebrate children and commit to improving their well-being.   World Children’s Day is


Congress won’t cut kids out — if we do this…

| October 15, 2021 |

Right now, Congress has the opportunity to cut child poverty, ensure more kids have access to health care, and save our struggling child care system. Some