Joel and Dana Wood have spent most of their lives on the Hill, first as staffers, then as lobbyists, and for the past decade they’ve been cashing in on their influence. After their son, James, was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy in 2000, the Woods have turned their lobbying talents toward securing research funds for the disease.
Joel, a top lobbyist with the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (and co-founder of local barbecue chain Red Hot & Blue), and his wife Dana, director of government relations at Kelley Drye & Warren, were blindsided by James’ diagnosis. “It was a terrible point for us,” he told Yeas & Nays. “After we came out of the fog of diagnosis, we thought, where is the advocacy organization on this?” Turns out that Duchenne’s syndrome, the deadly form of muscular dystrophy that struck their eight-year-old, wasn’t on anyone’s radar.
Like any good pair of lobbyists, the Woods dove into their Rolodexes.
“We impaled ourselves on every member of Congress that we knew, and across the board,” Wood said. “Everyone from Paul Wellstone on the left to Roger Wicker, who I’d say has been our No. 1 champion on the right.”
Between working their contacts and starting the Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne, the Woods have secured millions in funding for their cause. Congress might be “one point higher than venereal disease” in popularity right now, but Wood says members have responded to his cause with interest and, in some cases, their personal checkbooks.
The research that has resulted from the Woods’ efforts has bought time for James, who is in wheelchair but remains “a profoundly normal” 15-year-old, according to his father. The community will have another chance to bolster the cause on Sept. 10 at the inaugural Food for FED festival at Eastern Market. The day-long event will feature free samples, tastings, and a silent auction.
