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Justice, Fairness, Inclusion, and Performance.

G. Edward DeSeve

MEMBER SINCE: 1995

G. Edward DeSeve profile headshot

As Special Advisor to President Barack Obama, Mr. DeSeve oversaw the successful implementation of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

He is currently the Coordinator of the Agile Government Center at the National Academy of Public Administration. He is also the Executive Fellow at the IBM Center for the Business of Government and a Senior Advisor at GovNavigators.

His career has included work in finance, academia and government.

Service at the federal level included being Controller and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget as well as the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was the Director of Finance for the City of Philadelphia and served as a Special Assistant to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

He held a tenured professorship of Public Management and Finance at the University of Maryland and was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. At the Brookings Institution, he was the Executive in Residence at the Executive Education Program.

At each level of government, Mr. DeSeve oversaw complex fiscal affairs. He was instrumental in balancing Philadelphia’s budget during two fiscal crises. At OMB, he helped balance the federal budget for the first time in more than a generation. While at OMB, he oversaw the fiscal reforms of the District of Columbia that led to its return to investment grade ratings with strong budget and cash surpluses.

In the Private Sector, he founded the nation’s largest financial advisory firm for state and local governments- Public Financial Management. He was also a managing director at Merrill Lynch in their public finance department.

He is the author of numerous publications including, The Presidential AppointeesHandbook (Second Edition Brookings 2017). At the National Academy of Public Administration, he served as Vice Chair and was awarded the George Graham award for outstanding service in 2021. He was also awarded the Kenneth Howard award for career public service in financial management by the American Society of Public Administration.

He is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and has a Master’s in Public Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

History of Employment

Position
Division
Organization
Start
End
Senior Advisor
Gov Navigators
Present
Executive Fellow
IBM Center for the Business of Government
Present
Coordinator of the Agile Government Center
National Academy of Public Administration
Present
Chief Financial Officer
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Director of Finance
City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Deputy Director of Finance for Budget
City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Assistant to the Director of Finance
City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Analyst and Deputy Director
Community Renewal Program
City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Managing Director
Merrill Lynch Capital Markets
President
Public Financial Management
Special Assistant to the Governor
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Executive in Residence
Brookings Executive Education
Controller
U.S. Office of Management and Budget
Deputy Director for Management
U.S. Office of Management and Budget
Partner and National Industry Director
Federal Government
KPMG
Managing Partner
Governmentum Partners
Professor and Director
Management Finance and Leadership Program, School of Public Affairs
University of Maryland College Park
Professor
Fels Institute of Government
University of Pennsylvania
Special advisor to the President and Assistant to the Vice President
Senior Advisor to the Office of Management and Budget for Director for Implementation of the Recovery Act
Co-Executive Director
State Budget Crisis Task Force
Primary Sector of Expertise

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Primary Functions

Academic Faculty, Budgeting and Finance, City Management, Information Technology, Intergovernmental, Organizational Structure/Design/Development, Performance Measurement, State Government

Management Matters Podcast

Grand Challenge: Develop New Approaches to Public Governance and Engagement

The Future of Agile Government with Ed DeSeve, Coordinator of the Agile Government Center

Season: 1 Episode:143 | January 09, 2023

Show Notes:

On this episode, we welcome Ed DeSeve, Coordinator of the Academy's Agile Government Center, to discuss his new report, The Future of Agile Government, and how agile principles can apply to the development and implementation of government policies, regulations, and programs.

Links:



Grand Challenge: Develop New Approaches to Public Governance and Engagement

Increasing the Agility of the Federal Government with Ed DeSeve, Angela Evans, and Joe Mitchell

Season: 1 Episode:34 | December 14, 2020

Show Notes:

In this episode, we welcome Academy Fellows, Ed DeSeve, Coordinator of the Agile Government Center, and Angela Evans, Dean of the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, as well as Joe Mitchell, Academy Director for Strategic Initiatives and International Programs, to discuss efforts by the Academy to increase the agility of the Federal government, agile government's effect on the education of future public administrators, and recommendations for the incoming Biden Administration.

With Academy Fellows, Ed DeSeve, Coordinator of the Agile Government Center, and Angela Evans Dean of the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, as well as Joe Mitchell, Academy Director for Strategic Initiatives and International Programs

Topics Include:

  • Defining agile government
  • Recent work by the Agile Government Center
  • Recommendations for the government as a whole to become more agile
  • Using agile during crises and making it sustainable outside of crises
  • Challenges and obstacles for governments to use agile
  • Training current government managers to use agile
  • Implementing agile into the Public Administration curriculum
  • Initiatives at the University of Texas LBJ school including the Urban Lab and prison and jail innovation
  • Recommendations for the Biden Administration to increase the government's agility

Music Credits: Sea Breeze by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
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