Lanny Griffith serves as chief executive officer of BGR Group. He joined the Washington, DC-based government affairs and communications firm in 1993 after serving in several roles in President George H. W. Bush’s administration.
Griffith’s political career began in the early 1980s when he worked for the Republican National Committee, managed Haley Barbour’s (JD 73) U.S. Senate race in 1982 and served as the executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party for three years. In 1988, he served as Southern political director for Vice President Bush’s presidential campaign.
In 1989 Griffith was sworn in as special assistant to the president, serving as President Bush’s liaison to governors and other statewide elected officials. In 1991 President Bush nominated Griffith to be assistant secretary of education. At the U.S. Department of Education he directed Secretary Lamar Alexander’s effort to build a national consensus around educational standards and testing.
Griffith represented the U.S. on the Education Committee of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and served as co-chairman of the Advisory Council on Dependent Education, which serves as the school board for all dependent schools worldwide under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Griffith’s work for the Bush family continued with his role as national chairman of the Bush-Cheney 2000 Entertainment Task Force and entertainment coordinator for the 2001 Bush Inaugural. He later served as a Ranger and as a member of the Bush 2004 National Finance Committee.
Griffith is a founder of the Trust for the National Mall and currently serves on the board of directors. He serves as national treasurer for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in the U.S.