"Being a leader has nothing to do with your title, nor the number of direct reports you have. Leadership is all about establishing an environment where others are able to maximize their collective contribution to deliver a result or accomplish a goal because they want to, not because they have to or because you tell them to."
-Michael Edwards, “Leadership Defined.”
Results
Thought Leadership
Making ideas count.
Writings on strategy, impact, investigations, and crisis mitigation.
Best practices in corporate social responsibility, donor engagement, and community empowerment.
Reflections on national security, leadership, and resilience.
High performing teams require people-centered leadership that prioritizes mutual respect, continual growth, and accountability. Strong teams are built on trust, empathy, and self-awareness.
Problem Solving
Program Creation
Created programming that celebrated, archived, and mourned our complex racial history with the National Historic Trust by developing strategic guidelines for community involvement, stakeholder engagement and thought leader validation in the wake of 2017’s tragic events in Charlottesville, VA.
Social Media
Expanded the reach of elected officials by developing the first guidelines for the U.S. Senate to engage with social media, creating one of its first online video efforts.
Collaboration
Shortened crisis response times, promoted innovative grantmaking, and created learning communities through the creation of donor advised funds.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Rehabilitated stakeholder relationships, garnered community support, and deployed corporate social responsibility bests practices through creation of a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership to empower, educate, and employ communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs.
Impact Litigation
Second chaired a six week trial that deployed experts and uplifted data to support the theory that disproportionate discipline was a second-generation symptom of discriminatory education practices.
Team Building
Embracing transformational leadership.
I’ve led small teams to do big things— uncovering millions in international waste, fraud, and abuse. By mentoring the next generation, providing pro bono counsel, and serving on nonprofit boards, I employ lessons learned in advocacy, executive management, and government service to build more accountable institutions. My servant leader approach has been recognized for excellence by the Council on Foundations and created an expansive validator network from each stage of my career that shares a commitment to integrity, professionalism, and the highest ethical standards.