Josef Reum, PhD, MPA

Transformational Leader. Consultant. Facilitator. Philanthropy & Health Care Expert. Inspirational Speaker.

I have a passion for working with clients to identify and solve complex problems and to develop sustainable solutions that foster individual and organizational growth. 

Over a career spanning more than 30 years, I’ve translated this passion into measurable results for hundreds of organizations in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, and developed a proven and innovative approach. 

Since 1994, I’ve operated a consulting practice focused on organizational change, growth, and crisis management, particularly around leadership, strategy, and culture. 

My clients include foundations, multinational corporations, public utilities, trade and professional associations, universities, state, tribal, and local governments, not-for-profit organizations, and health care systems.  

I am frequently invited to deliver keynote speeches on topics including leadership, cultural transformation, disability, and work/life balance. I’ve given more than 300 keynote speeches to diverse groups ranging from the National HeadStart Association, to the International Conference on Breast Cancer Advocacy.

From 2001 to 2015 – along-side my consulting work – I served in senior executive leadership positions at The George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health. As interim dean and senior associate dean, I led the re-alignment of recruitment and admissions processes, scholarship programs, budget processes, and APT guidelines. Over the course of 14 years, I helped transform the school from a struggling institution drowning in debt to a thriving school with 1,900 students, 130 full-time faculty, an $80 million budget, and a newly-constructed $75 million, LEED Platinum building on Washington Circle. 

I am Professor Emeritus in the school’s Department of Health Policy and Management, and was a seven-time winner of the excellence in teaching award.    

Prior to GWU, I served in cabinet roles for nine governors in six states. My areas of responsibility included finance, economic development, mental health, public health, developmental disabilities, transportation, higher education, and health systems change.

I hold a doctorate in health policy, feminist ethics, leadership, and systems change theory from the School of Business and Public Management at The George Washington University, a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a bachelors’ degree in political philosophy and social psychology from the Catholic University of America. 

I’m a lifelong advocate for people with disabilities, and a charter member of the US Disabled Ski Team, winning seven medals in amputee downhill racing. I am an avid fly fisher, painter, and committed student of mindfulness meditation.