Mark A. Abramson

Mark A. Abramson is the President of Leadership Inc. He has had a unique career as a social entrepreneur. He has a Master’s in Political Science from Syracuse University (1973) and Master’s in History from New York University (1971). He graduated in Arts from Florida State University in 1968.

Beginning his career as a public servant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the United States Department of Health and Human Services, he became an active member in the public administration and public management communities. He was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 1992. He is also a past President of the National Capital Area Chapter (NCAC) of the American Society for Public Administration. Since 1995, he has served as an evaluator and team leader for the Innovations in American Government Awards Program sponsored by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has also served on the selection panel for the Truman Scholars and on the Office of Personnel Management's Pay Reform Task Force. From 1994 to 1999, he was a Faculty Member at George Mason University’s Department of Public and International Affairs.

Mark has played a pivotal role in establishing two forefront organizations committed to improving management in government. In 1998, he created a knowledge management program that became the IBM Centre for the Business of Government. He served as Executive Director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government from July 1998 to February 2007. In 2009, he was appointed to serve on the Residential Rank Review Board, which reviewed the Distinguished Rank Awards given to members of the federal government's Senior Executive Service. During his tenure, the IBM Center published more than 160 reports and books on innovative approaches in the management of government and public service. As Executive Director, he oversaw all Center publications, Center events for government executives, The Business of Government magazine, the Business of Government radio hour, and the Center's website. He planned and administered an on-going series of high profile events for government executives. He is currently a consultant to the IBM Center and assisted them in their 2008 presidential transition initiative.

Previous to this, he founded the Council for Excellence in Government. While serving as first President of the Council from 1983 to 1994, he created the strategic platforms of the Council: the Principals program, the Prune Book series, and the Excellence in Government Fellows program.

Mr. Abramson serves as editor of the Business of Government Book Series, published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. He is also the author/editor of 15 books and has published more than 100 articles on public management. In 2005, he was appointed to the editorial board of the Public Administration Review as Case Study Editor. He has also served as a Contributing Editor to Government Executive Magazine and as a member of the Board of Editors and Forum Editor for The Public Manager. He was awarded the Laverne Burchfield Award for his article "The Leadership Factor," which was selected as the Best Book Review of the year published in Public Administration Review.

Contact Information:
E-mail: mark.abramson@thoughtleadership.com