Fellows Biographies

William Dodge , Jr.

(1998) – William R. (Bill) Dodge has assisted community leaders and citizens to foster regional cooperation and to build regional communities over the past three decades. 

Mr. Dodge helps individuals, organizations, and communities to build their capacities to address the tough regional challenges, such as shaping balanced regional growth, overcoming intercommunity fiscal, economic, and ethnic disparities, and creating effective regional decision-making networks.  He also makes presentations and conducts workshops on fostering regional cooperation and guides regional strategic planning processes.  Mr. Dodge is currently writing a new book on the three key components to building successful regional communities; becoming practicing regional citizens, developing regional decision-making networks, and negotiating regional growth compacts. 

Recently, as Executive Director of the National Association of Regional Councils, Mr. Dodge offered assistance on the latest regional tools and techniques and shared information on emerging regional developments with regional councils of governments and other public, private, academic, and civic regional organizations.  He brought regional leaders and their organizations together, in annual Regional Summits, to help advance a National Regional Agenda and guided the preparation of the first National State of the Regions report.  He also represented the interests of regional councils before the U. S. Congress and federal agencies.

Previously, as principal of Strategic Partnerships Consulting, Mr. Dodge helped local governments to develop intergovernmental compacts, chambers of commerce to pursue regional tax sharing arrangements, colleges and universities to design interdisciplinary regional programs, regional planning councils to conduct regional strategic planning processes, state governments to assess affordable housing strategies, and regional leadership alliances to advance economic competitiveness visions. 

Earlier, Mr. Dodge held senior management positions in local, state and national government and directed private, academic, and civic organizations, including serving as:

• Executive Director, Intergovernmental Cooperation Program, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Executive Director, Consortium for Public Administration Field Services, University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University and Carnegie-Mellon University
• Executive Director, Committee for Progress and Efficiency in Pittsburgh (ComPEP) and Committee for Progress in Allegheny County (ComPAC), Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Executive Director, Department of Planning and Development, Allegheny County Government, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Deputy Director, Office of Budget and Management, State of Ohio Government, Columbus, Ohio
• Associate, Booz, Allen and Hamilton
• Assistant Director, Model Cities Program, District of Columbia Government, Washington, DC
• Peace Corps Volunteer, Urban Community Development, Guayaquil, Ecuador
• Budget Examiner, Bureau of the Budget (now Office of Management and Budget), United States Government, Washington, DC

Mr. Dodge also recently served as the Interim Town Administrator for Silverton, Colorado, to guide the preparation of the annual budget, pursue key infrastructure and recreation improvements, and help recruit a new Town Administrator.

Mr. Dodge has made presentations at scores of regional gatherings of community leaders and citizens, conducted workshops for regional organizations, and taught courses in graduate schools of public affairs and administration.  He co-authored Shaping a Region’s Future:  A Guide to Strategic Decision Making for Regions, a manual to guide regional strategic planning processes, and wrote Regional Excellence: Governing Together to Compete Globally and Flourish Locally, a book to guide explorations of regional decision making.

Mr. Dodge holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering (Cornell University), a master’s degree in foreign affairs and economics (University of Virginia), and a certificate in urban and regional planning (Harvard/Massachusetts Institute of Technology).