Facebook CEO Zuckerberg, Other Tech Execs to Form D.C. Advocacy Group

Mr. Zuckerberg is going to Washington.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is involved in early efforts to form an issues advocacy organization in Washington D.C. in conjunction with other tech executives, according to people familiar with the matter.

The group, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, will focus on building general public support around topics such as immigration, education reform and general long-term economic issues, these sources said.

Zuckerberg and the other tech executives will join a bipartisan group of Beltway insider consultants including Republican strategists Jon Lerner and Rob Jesmer, as well as former Facebook VP of global comms Joe Lockhart (now of the Glover Park Group).

Also present is Joe Green, Zuckerberg’s former Harvard roommate who was involved early on with NationBuilder.com and Causes.com and is now an entrepreneur in residence at the Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

The news comes after recent political efforts by Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley luminaries, who have pushed Congress and the president to enact comprehensive immigration reform. TechNet, a bipartisan advocacy group, organized the effort, as well as a series of meetings between the tech execs and top political leaders in Washington.

“We call on you to address the need for more qualified, highly-skilled professionals, domestic and foreign, and to enact immigration reform this year,” said the group’s letter to Congress, which was signed by many tech executives, including Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer and Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr.

A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment.