Kathy Kretman

Since 2001, Kathy Kretman has served in a number of roles at Georgetown University, which currently include the Waldemar A. Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy; Director of the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership; and Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy. She has devoted most of her career to the development of leaders in the public, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

One of the highlights of Dr. Kretman’s career has been directing Georgetown’s internationally recognized nonprofit executive certificate program, which now has 1,400 alumni across the globe. She also has created customized leadership programs for such organizations as USAID, United Way International, the National Urban League, the National Hispana Leadership Institute, the Corporation for Enterprise Development, and the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.

As a faculty member of George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management from 1996 to 2000, Dr. Kretman found that she loved motivating students to explore their own leadership talents. During the same period, she served as an affiliate faculty member of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Executive Leadership Institute, training AmeriCorps and VISTA state and local directors.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Kretman advised chief executive officers on corporate social responsibility for the American Council of Life Insurance’s Center for Corporate Public Involvement; researched community and economic development issues as a National Urban Fellow at Regional Plan Association in New York City; and investigated discriminatory practices in employment, municipal services’ delivery, and voting rights for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Dr. Kretman’s passion for leadership education, research and practice extends to her service on numerous boards and advisory groups over the years. Currently, she is a member of the Woods Hole Research Center’s President’s Council. Her writings and speeches reflect her philosophy that exercising leadership for public purpose is the responsibility of all, and not a privileged few.

She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Maryland, an M.A. in Public Administration from George Washington University, and a B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Education

• University of Maryland-College Park - Ph.D., Political Science
• George Washington University - M.A., Public Administration
• University of Texas - B.S., Government