Joel Wiginton

Joel Wiginton is the father of a Fall 2021 alumna. He diligently serves on the Governance and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees for Alzar School.  In his professional life, Joel is a Principal with The Raben Group, a social justice-focused public affairs firm. With 25 years of experience advocating and providing strategic advice on a global, federal, and state level, Joel is a trusted legal, policy, and political advisor to the firm’s nonprofit and foundation clients. Prior to joining Raben, Joel taught legislative lawyering and public policy in Georgetown University Law School and supervised law students who served as legal advisors for nonprofit advocacy organizations focused on racial equity, immigration reform, environmental justice, disability rights, and LGBTQ issues. He also spent nearly two decades heading government relations and serving as a senior counsel for global technology and entertainment companies, including Sony Corporation of America, Samsung Electronics, and Cognizant Technology Solutions. Joel directed international, federal, and state legislative, regulatory, and political affairs for these corporations and served as their chief representative before the U.S. and many foreign governments. Before moving to the private sector, he served as Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs in the Clinton White House and functioned as the White House’s primary legislative liaison to the Senate Judiciary, Commerce, Banking, and Small Business Committees.