TheBridge profile: John Stanford

Name: John Stanford

Current city: Washington, DC

Current job: Managing Director, Prism Group Public Affairs

Past job: Vice President, Madison Services Group

Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Centrolina

Q. Describe one way how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your new job. Teaching high school math as part of Teach for America convinced me that you have to keep it simple for an audience to follow you. Whether it's a 17-year old or a Senator, you have to boil down your argument to be persuasive.

Q. Job advice in three words? Ask for things.

Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between politics and tech? One of our government affairs practices centers around fostering entrepreneurship and innovation. Technology has made an entrepreneur out of all of us, and government should embrace that.

Q. Underrated virtue in an employee? Punctuality, which is shockingly underrated. The most visible commitment to a company, cause, or campaign is simply showing up when you agreed you would. Failing to do so sets everything off on the wrong foot.

Q. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? 6 Hours + (all depending when the puppy wakes me up)

Q. Company you're watching that's under the radar? Via - a relatively new ride-sharing startup (but keep the secret, because it means I ride alone).

Q. What can Silicon Valley teach DC? Challenging what's possible. DC has largely forgotten how to try new things and is stuck in a default of "No", while innovators out West are constantly willing to fail to achieve the impossible.