Quentin R. Lawson

More than 40 years of management and marketing experience in a variety of public service and non-profit settings.  Areas of expertise include association management, product and service marketing,  fundraising, strategic planning, organizational development, special events planning and building coalitions among high ranking officials in the private, public and non-profit sectors.

National Alliance of Black School Educators, Washington, DC  (March 1996 – present)

Chief executive officer of the largest network of African American educators in the United States.  Responsibilities include managing a $2.5 million annual budget, developing and managing professional development, research and policy programs.  Additional duties include managing an annual conference attracting nearly 4,000 educators and forging  partnerships with other national educational associations and corporations.

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc., Washington, DC  (September 1992 - September 1995)

Chief executive officer of a nationally recognized non-profit organization developed to support the educational, political and economic empowerment of African Americans.  Responsibilities included administering a $4 million annual budget, overseeing the implementation of an ambitious programmatic agenda, and forging partnerships among Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), major academic and research institutions, numerous public policy organizations and public officials from all levels of government service.  Additional duties included managing a diverse staff of senior managers, mid-level professionals and support personnel, developing training and educational programs for the next generation of black policymakers, and administering an annual policy conference attracting more than 15,000 African American leaders from across the country.

Major Accomplishments:

1. Successfully marketed sponsorship programs to private sector organizations generating revenues in excess of $2 million annually;
2. Established the CBC Policy Research Institute, a comprehensive unit which undertakes intensive research and analyses of critical public policy issues;
3. Designed a strategic fundraising and resource development program which led to unprecedented contributions form previously untapped corporate sources;
4. Conceptualized and implemented an annul public policy conference held in different cities each year; and
5. Expanded and broadened the CBC Foundation’s educational, scholarship and fellows programs through partnerships and collaboration with major institutions of higher learning in cities throughout the country.

National Forum for Black Public Administrators, Washington, DC  (October 1987 – September 1992)

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of a national non-profit membership organization dedicated to developing the professional skills of African American managers in city, country and state governments, as well as attracting more blacks to public management at the executive level.  Led expansion of organization from its inception to more than 3,000 members over a nine-year period.  Managed the production of an annual conference attracting more than 1,200 professionals, the development of the Executive Leadership Institute an intensive eight-month program for aspiring city managers and the launch of a Leadership Institute for Small Municipalities.  Directed the development of a wide range of specialized membership services.

Major Accomplishments:

1. Conceptualized the mission of National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA) and provided leadership during its incubation and subsequent transformation into an independent entity with an annual budget of $1.3 million;
2. Secured more than $2 million in funding from major foundations to support the development and operation of three intensive educational and professional development programs;
3. Designed and launched a specialized training program for black South Africans aspiring to public management positions in the post-apartheid era and negotiated a subcontract with the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provided project funding of $1.5 million over a five-year period;
4. Secured the donations of computer hardware, software and equipment valued at more than $200,000 from prominent corporate sources, including Apple Computers, IBM, Wang Laboratories and Kodak; and
5. Developed a Corporate Advisory Council to provide a forum for the participation of black corporate executives in the resource development activities of the Association.

Executive Vice President (1985 – 1987)

Vice President of Applied Research and Director, Urban Consortium (1981- 1985)
Public Technology, Inc., Washington, DC

Provided oversight to a wide range of programs and services delivered by a national, non-profit membership organization of local governments.  Primary responsibilities included managing the design and implementation of a company-wide marketing plan, overseeing the implementations of research projects organized around operational areas and supervising staff in the association’s primary areas of operations.  Additional duties included designing a needs assessment for large city and country governments, overseeing membership recruitment and retention, collaborating with elected and appointed government executives in identifying and resolving special needs and directing the activities of a network of city and country governments with populations in excess of 400,000.

Major Accomplishments:

1. Expanded local government marketing program which generated an additional $1.2 million in annual revenues;
2. Negotiated the refunding of a $1 million energy conservation research initiative with senior officials at the U.S. Department of Energy; and
3. Secured the refunding of a demonstration program supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation which resulted in the award of a contract in the amount of $700,000.

Office of the Mayor, City of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD  (1975 – 1981)

Responsibilities included administering a comprehensive and innovative human services program -- one of the city’s two major operational areas.  Oversaw 80% of the city’s $1.2 billion budget.  Offices and services supervised included aging, employment, health and hospitals, public housing, juvenile and criminal justice, library services, recreation, public safety and public schools.

City of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD  (1971 – 1975)

Assisted in the development and interpretation of local school policy for public officials and civic and interest groups.  Established unprecedented linkages among school system officials, the business community and government leaders.

Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore, MD  (1969 – 1971)

Developed and directed a $5 million program designed to identify and implement effective methods for reducing the number of inner city students who quit school.  Secured multi-year funding for this innovative and widely praised initiative.

Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore, MD  (1968 – 1969)

Served as coordinator of an urban teacher-training program.

Teacher and School Administrator (1953 – 1968)

Held increasingly responsible positions in public school systems located in Halifax County, Virginia, Hartford County, Maryland and the City of Baltimore.

Volunteer Leadership Activities and Professional Affiliations

Member, Board of Directors of Kurron, Inc.  (1993 – present)

Board Member, Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution  ( 1994 – 2000)

Chairman, State of Maryland, Governor’s Council on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention  (1991 – 1999)

Chair, Maryland Higher Education Commission  (1995)

Founder and Past President, National Organization of Human Services Officials, U.S. Conference of Mayors

Member, American Society of Association Executives

Frequent Keynote speaker and presenter at various conferences and training programs hosted by government agencies, non-profit organizations and academic institutions.

Education