Biography provided by participant

With more than 20 years of public policy experience at all levels of government and a demonstrated commitment to making children's lives better, Bruce Lesley has directed and led First Focus - a bipartisan children's advocacy organization - since the fall of 2006. Prior to that, Lesley spent 12 years on Capitol Hill working on health care, education, human services, and immigration issues in a variety of capacities. Most recently, he served as Senior Health Policy Advisor on both 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 an aide in the offices of U.S. Representatives Ronald Coleman and Diana DeGette.

Lesley also worked in the health care industry for the National Association of Children's Hospitals and University Medical Center (previously Thomason General Hospital), El Paso's only not-for-profit, community-owned hospital and healthcare system in El Paso, Texas. Lesley holds a Bachelor's of Arts in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. He also attended the University of Texas at El Paso and University of Texas at Austin.