Morgan Downey, J.D. is the first Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the American Obesity Association, a position he assumed on July 1, 1997.

A Washington lawyer with broad experience in health care advocacy and a personal understanding of obesity, Downey has worked on behalf of medical consumers for more than two decades. He has specialized in the representation of health care clients before Congress and federal agencies and in the administration and management of non-profit organizations.

After completing Georgetown University Law School, Downey became one of the first lobbyists for Ralph Nader and worked on legislation establishing public financing of Presidential elections as well as the reform of the federal criminal code. From there he went to work for Common Cause, and worked on grass-roots activity on national issues such as public financing of congressional elections and for state legislation.

In 1977, Downey began work as Director of Governmental and Legal Affairs for the American Speech Language-Hearing Association. During his eleven-year tenure, he reformed the hearing aid industry, and successfully integrated speech therapy into the health care mainstream, including Medicare and Medicaid. He successfully lobbied for major changes affecting children and adults with communication disorders and engaged in numerous rule-making activities with the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Health Care Financing Administration.

Downey lobbied extensively for expanded appropriations on neurological and communicative disorders, culminating in the Congressional Resolution, which declared the 1990s as the Decade of the Brain. Subsequently, he directed the National Foundation for Brain Research (NFBR), which was the leading educational organization promoting recognition of the advances in neuroscience research.

Downey also established a private practice specializing in the representation of clients in neuroscience, neurological and mental disorders and communicative disorders. His clients have included: the National Coalition for Research in Neurological Disorders (NCR), the International Neural Network Society (INNS), the Council of Graduate Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders, the National Head Injury Foundation, the National Parkinson Foundation and the FSH Society.

He has authored publications on healthcare and legal issues including:

• Legal Issues in Brain Science Advances, Court, Health Science and the Law, Spring, 1991.


• Medicare Reimbursement of Nonphysician Health Care, Chapter, 1991 Health Law Handbook, Clark, Boardman, Callaghan.


• Health Insurance Manual for Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists, ASHA, 1994.


• Laboratories or Puppets - The Challenge of Federal Preemption, Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law Journal, July 1981.

Downey knows obesity issues first hand. He has undergone medical treatment for obesity himself and is committed to expanding research, improving treatment options and fighting the stigma of obesity.