News & Politics

Marc Egan: 40 Under 40

The young lobbyists with the most influence in Washington

Name: Marc Egan
Firm: National Education Association
Age: 38

Egan became an education lobbyist by chance. As a young journalist in Montgomery, Alabama, he got to know the state school-board association and decided to switch careers when the group offered him a lobbying job. Egan, who grew up attending public schools in Maryland’s Montgomery County, became interested in education policy after seeing the lack of resources for public education in Alabama.

He has lobbied for the National Education Association—the largest labor union in the country—since 2009. Last year, he was lead lobbyist for the NEA’s biggest fight: to pass the education jobs bill. Getting the legislation through a Senate reluctant to add to the deficit proved a tough battle, but Egan’s efforts paid off when the bill passed with $10 billion to save a projected 160,000 education jobs.

This article appears in the June 2011 issue of The Washingtonian.

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Senior Editor

Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 and was a senior editor until 2022.