Brian M. Johnson (Epsilon Psi–North Carolina-Wilmington ’02) serves as the Vice President of Government & Public Affairs, and head of Washington, D.C. Office for Veterans Guardian VA Claim Consulting LLC. Veterans Guardian is one of the largest veteran-owned-and operated private companies helping over 30,000 veterans every year secure the disability benefits they are legally and medically entitled to. As a leader in veteran advocacy & philanthropy, Veterans Guardian is proud to be recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor ‘HIREVets’ Award recipient for the past four-years. In this capacity Johnson manages all government, public, and external affairs engagements, as well as the company’s VETGUARD PAC and other community and outward facing engagements.
As a seasoned government and political strategist, Johnson represented Fortune 100 companies, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives, has developed, and executed numerous strategic government and public affairs campaigns, drafted, and had countless pieces of legislation introduced, secured tens of millions of dollars in targeted Appropriations, worked intimately on, and helped pass, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). His expert commentary has been featured on BBC, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, Fox Business News, PBS, and many more.
His work has been recognized by Washington Life Magazine naming him to their annual ‘Young & the Guest List’ which honors “professionals from numerous fields and political persuasions [who] are stealing headlines and helping make the world a better place” from 2015-2020 and was named to The Hill’s ‘Top Lobbyist 2020′ list.
Prior to joining Veterans Guardian, Johnson was most recently Principal at the Vogel Group, a top-ranked international government affairs and strategic business advisory firm. Before that he was a Director of Federal Affairs and formerly the Senior Tax Advisor for the American Petroleum Institute, the largest oil & natural gas trade association. Previously, he was the Federal Affairs Manager at Americans for Tax Reform and the Executive Director of the Center for Worker Freedom. Politically he was previously involved with the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign in North Carolina, the 2016 Marco Rubio for President campaign as a volunteer national fundraiser and registered bundler, as well as a tax and energy policy committee member.
Currently, Johnson advises on dozens of political campaigns, serves on several elected officials’ Steering Committees, and is heavily involved in local politics. Johnson holds a Masters in Public Administration with a focus on Public Policy Analysis; a Specialization in European Political Economy and International Trade from the Institut Catholique des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (ICHEC) in Brussels, Belgium; and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with Minors in International Affairs and English.
Johnson also runs HungryLobbyist.com, a food and lifestyle website where he interviews members of Congress on food.
