Specialty: Research and writing on a wide variety of challenging and technical topics.

Fields most served: telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, financial services, extractive industries, international development, corporate social responsibility.

Interview:

Q: How do you describe to friends what you do at WHWG?
Gardner: Writing. Policy communications. Advocacy communications.

Q: What is most satisfying about your work for your clients?
Gardner: Providing solid advice or a well-written piece of work.

Q: What are your clients looking for from you?
Gardner: Principally research or advice, though some seek written products.

Q: Do you have a personal measure of success?
Gardner: Client satisfaction with a product or advice.

Bio:   John S. Gardner has a strong background in the work of the Executive Branch and in the intersection of politics and policy on a variety of issues, notably telecommunications, healthcare, and international affairs. He served as General Counsel of the United States Agency for International Development from July 2001 to June 2005; before that, he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary at the White House for President George W. Bush. He held a similar office in the Administration of President George Bush from 1989 to 1992. In the Administration of President Reagan, Gardner was a speechwriter for the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration and for Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (now WHWG Senior Director) Daniel Oliver.

In politics, Gardner has worked on four Presidential campaigns, most notably as Assistant Director of Research for George Bush for President and Bush-Quayle ’88. In the private sector, he was associated with the law firm of Davis, Polk & Wardwell in New York. Gardner also has worked as a research analyst for the Schwab Capital Markets division of Charles Schwab & Co., focusing on antitrust issues in both the U.S. and Europe and transportation companies, and as vice president, Federal Government Affairs, for AT&T Corporation.

Gardner has an AB degree cum laude from Harvard College, an M. Litt. in Modern History from Oxford University, and a J.D. degree cum laude from Harvard Law School. He has published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, the Harvard BlackLetter Law Journal, the European Administrative Law Journal, the Weekly Standard, First Things, and Tech Central Station. He has a deep knowledge of international development, particularly with regard to East and South Asia, and international health issues and food and drug law. His article on the European Medicines Evaluation Agency was the first published academic treatment of the subject.

He resides in Alexandria, VA.