History of Wexler and Walker

Anne Wexler, an innovator in public policy strategy, established The Wexler Group on January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan entered the White House. Ms. Wexler founded the firm based on her White House experience of organizing large coalitions of public support for the President's priority issues. Recognizing that such coalition building also had a niche in the private sector, she partnered with Gail Harrison, Vice President Mondale's chief policy person, and Bob Schule, a Senate lobbyist at the White House, to launch The Wexler Group.

The firm was a success from the start, as corporate clients familiar with Ms. Wexler from her White House years sought her expertise for policy advice, lobbying and coalition building. In 1983, Nancy Reynolds, a Reagan Administration confidante, joined the firm as a fourth principal. Ms. Reynolds was the first woman President of the Business Government Relations Council, whose membership was confined to the heads of Washington Corporate offices. As a result of her high-profile leadership position, and her relationship with President Reagan, business at the firm doubled when she joined.

Some of the clients who were retained by The Wexler Group at that time remain clients today, most notably General Motors and American Airlines. The firm was the only high-profile bipartisan partnership in Washington, and Ms. Wexler and Ms. Reynolds were the only women running a lobbying firm.

Although the name changed to Wexler, Reynolds Harrison and Schule, the firm came to be known as Wexler Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds retired in 1995.

The firm’s tradition of bipartisan representation was again highlighted when Congressman Bob Walker joined the organization in January, 1997. Mr. Walker came with twenty years of service as a member of Congress, including substantial experience in the House Republican leadership.

As the twenty-first century dawned, Wexler and Walker have been repeatedly recognized as a leading Washington public affairs company, highly capable, well connected, with a strong reputation for integrity. Today it continues to be where clients find innovation strategy ideas and bipartisan support to meet their public policy needs.