2018 Executive Forum Speaker Bios

2018 Executive Forum Speaker Bios

Greg Gifford, Ph.D.
Dr. Greg Gifford is Dean of the Federal Executive Institute (FEI) and is responsible for the
professional development of over 800 senior federal executives each year. Dr. Gifford administers
the academic operations at FEI and oversees faculty, adjunct faculty, and curriculum delivered in
FEI’s executive leadership development programs. His portfolio includes FEI’s flagship program—
Leadership for a Democratic Society, a variety of custom single agency and international
programs, and open enrollment courses.

Dr. Gifford is recognized as an expert in leadership development and is a strategic driver of
executive leadership development programs for the U.S. government. He places a strong value on
outcomes‐based development that demonstrates return on investment and shows measureable
progress.

He regularly speaks on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and has earned the MBTI Master
Practitioner designation. His other interests include work motivation, team development,
workplace diversity, adult development and individual change. Dr. Gifford regularly teaches in FEI
programs including sessions on leadership theory, MBTI, 360‐ degree feedback, transforming
organizations, transforming individuals, and a variety of special topics.

Dr. Gifford came to FEI in 2011 from the University of Florida where as an Assistant Professor he
taught courses on interpersonal leadership development, team development, team leadership,
work motivation and leadership theory. His publications include work on power in organizations,
work motivation, positive political skills, workplace stigma and cross‐cultural motivation. He has
been an invited speak at the University of Virginia, The George Washington University and the
National Taiwan University and the Chinese Training and Development Association, the Korean
Central Officials Training Institute, amongst others. He has a number of professional certifications
including MBTI Step II, EQi 2.0, Kirkpatrick Evaluation Methods, Subject‐Object Interviewer, and
Immunity to Change
facilitator.

Dr. Gifford has served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Leadership Educators and is
a member of the International Leadership Association. In 2016, he received the OPM Director’s
Award for Leadership Excellence and in 2000 he was presented with the Gold Congressional
Award from the United States Congress. He studied at the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln earning
a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies, an M.S. in Leadership Education and a B.A. in political science and
communication studies.

Kristi Hedges
Kristi Hedges is a communications expert, author, speaker and sought‐after leadership coach. In
her 25‐year career working with leaders to help them communicate more effectively she’s
encountered every personality type imaginable, yet remains more than a little passionate that
anyone can learn presence. Through her coaching and workshops, she’s worked with CEOs, senior
leaders and professionals in companies spanning the Fortune 500, non‐profits and the U.S.

government. In addition to running The Hedges Company, she is a founding partner in the
leadership development firm, Element North.

Kristi writes about leadership for Forbes and Harvard Business Review and is regularly featured in
publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Entrepreneur, BBC, Chief
Learning Officer and CNBC. She’s been honored as one of the “50 Women Who Mean Business in
Washington, D.C.” and as an owner of a top 25 Largest Women‐Owned Businesses by the
Washington Business Journal.

Prior to becoming a leadership coach, Kristi co‐founded and ran one of the first technology
communications firms in the Washington, D.C. area for a decade before successfully selling her
interest. Her career highlights also include working for a national news outlet, and as a political
consultant for dozens of electoral campaigns from U.S. President to statewide offices. Kristi holds
a Phi Beta Kappa B.A. from Virginia Tech and an M.S. from Purdue University. She is an ICF‐
credentialed leadership coach through Georgetown University, and is a teaching faculty member
in Georgetown’s Institute for Transformational Leadership.

Daphne Y. Jefferson
Daphne Y. Jefferson is the Senior Advisor for Shared Services with the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT). She was asked to lead DOT’s migration to a shared service operating model
because of her exemplary accomplishments in leading mission support functions in several
federal agencies. She advises the Assistant Secretary for Administration on the assessment,
design and implementation of shared services for human resources and acquisitions
management.

Ms. Jefferson served as Deputy Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) from February 2015 until November 2017. She led an organization with over 1,100
employees across the United States. Prior to her appointment with FMCSA, she served as the
Counselor to the Chief of Staff at DOT in the immediate Office of the Secretary from December
2013 until February 2015. Before that, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Administration for DOT. Previously she also served as the Associate Administrator for
Administration for DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Ms. Jefferson previously held the position of Administrator of the Office of Financial and
Administrative Management with the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training
Administration where she led Federal employees and contractors that performed diverse
functions including Federal grant and contract management, audit resolution, budget formulation
and execution, accounting, administrative services, human resource management, training, labor
relations, equal employment opportunity, and emergency preparedness.

Ms. Jefferson also served as the Director of Business Integration in the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration's (NASA) Office of the Chief Financial Officer. At NASA, she directed the
development and implementation of financial management policies, processes and procedures,
ensured the integration of financial management regulations with NASA's agency‐wide business
systems, and led the workforce development effort for the financial management community.

Ms. Jefferson began her federal career with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Over a 20‐
year period, she held positions of increasing responsibility within the Air Traffic Control Service,
including managing air traffic control field facilities and serving as manager of the Meteorological
Support Branch in Washington, DC.

In addition to Ms. Jefferson’s career as a federal senior executive, she is also a leadership coach.
She is passionate about helping leaders to gracefully navigate the challenges of transitions. She
has coached leaders at every level of government, the private sector, nonprofit organizations, and
academia.

Ms. Jefferson holds a Masters in Public Administration from American University and served as a
Brookings Institution Legislative Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives. She holds a
Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational
Leadership. In addition, Ms. Jefferson is the recipient of the 2016 Presidential Meritorious Rank
Award and the 2017 Influential Woman in Trucking Award.

Rob Kramer
Rob Kramer specializes in public sector and academic leadership and team development. A
manager for fifteen years in the public sector and NGO’s, he has experienced many different
styles of bosses and other superiors. Rob has been an adjunct faculty member at FEI since 2004,
and an executive coach since 2001.

Rob has served more than fifteen years in academia. He currently facilitates faculty leadership
development programming at the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) Institute for the Arts and
Humanities. He was founding Director the Center for Leadership & Organizational Excellence at
NC A&T State University, the first of its kind in the southeast United States. Prior to that he was
the Director of Training & Organizational Development at UNC, where he lead and provided
executive coaching and organizational development consulting, overseeing management,
supervisory and leadership development for the University's 12,000 faculty and staff.

Rob's coaching clients include CEO’s, executives in public and private sectors, political appointees,
and senior managers. He is the author of Stealth Coaching: Everyday Conversations for
Extraordinary Results, and Management and Leadership Skills for Medical Faculty: A Practical
Handbook. He has contributed a leadership column for Advance magazine and for the Chronicle
of Higher Education. Rob is delighted to have lectured at a TEDx conference, where he spoke on
The Opposite of Stress.

Rob is also an executive coach for the Center for Creative Leadership, an organization ranked
among the best executive education providers in the world. Additionally, he has lectured at Yale
University, the University of Virginia, Duke University, NC State University, and the University of
Colorado, among other academic institutions.

Rob received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Delaware. Concentrating on Social
Psychology, Rob's primary focus was examining group behavior, dynamics and interactions. Rob
received his Master’s degree from the University of North Carolina, and completed his studies in
Organizational Development at UNC‐Charlotte. He is an International Coach Federation (ICF) and

CCL certified coach, and is an active member of the Institute of Coaching (Harvard), ICF, and the
Organizational Development Network.

Russ Linden
Russ Linden is a management educator and author who specializes in organizational performance
and change methods in the public sector. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of
Virginia and the Federal Executive Institute. His clients have included several intelligence and
defense agencies, the Departments of State, Transportation, Treasury, HHS, Interior and
Education. He’s also worked with a governor, a state attorney general, and over four dozen
nonprofit, state and local government agencies.

He writes a column on management innovations for Management Insights, an online column
sponsored by Governing Magazine. In 2003 he was the Williams Distinguished Visiting Scholar at
the State University of New York (Fredonia) School of Business. He is the author of five books. The
most recent, Leading Across Boundaries: Creating Collaborative Agencies in a Networked World,
was published in 2010. His PhD is from the University of Virginia. He and his wife have two adult
children.

Daniel H. Pink
Daniel H. Pink is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about business, work, and
behavior.

His books include:
  When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing unlocks the scientific secrets to good timing
     to help you flourish at work, at school, and at home.
  To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, which uses social science to
     offer a fresh look at the art and science of sales. To Sell is Human was a #1 bestseller on the
     New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post lists and is being translated into
     31 languages. More than a dozen outlets, from Amazon.com to The Washington Post,
     selected it as one of the best books of the year. It also won the American Marketing
     Association’s Berry Book Prize as the year’s best book on marketing.
  Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, which draws on 50 years of
     behavioral science to overturn the conventional wisdom about human motivation. Along
     with being a Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle,
     and Publishers Weeklybestseller, Drive spent 159 weeks on the New York Times bestseller
     lists. A national bestseller in Japan and the United Kingdom, the book has been translated
     into 35 languages.
  A Whole New Mind: Why Right‐Brainers Will Rule the Future, which charts the rise of right‐
     brain thinking in modern economies and describes the six abilities individuals and
     organizations must master in an outsourced, automated age. A Whole New Mind was on the
     New York Times bestseller lists for 96 weeks over four years. It has been a Freshman Read at
     several U.S. colleges and universities. In 2008, Oprah Winfrey gave away 4,500 copies of the
     book to Stanford University’s graduating class when she was the school’s commencement
     speaker.

   The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, the first American
     business book in the Japanese comic format known as manga and the only graphic novel
     ever to become a BusinessWeek bestseller. Illustrated by award‐winning artist Rob Ten Pas,
     The Adventures of Johnny Bunko was named an American Library Association best graphic
     novel for teens.
    Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself, a Washington Post bestseller that
     Publishers Weekly says “has become a cornerstone of employee‐management relations.” In
     2013, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Library of Congress selected Free Agent Nation
     as one of 100 Books That Shaped Work in America.

Pink was host and co‐executive producer of “Crowd Control,” a television series about human
behavior on the National Geographic Channel. He also appears frequently on NPR’s Hidden Brain,
the PBS NewsHour, and other TV and radio networks in the US and abroad.

He has been a contributing editor at Fast Company and Wired as well as a business columnist for
The Sunday Telegraph. His articles and essays have also appeared in The New York Times, Harvard
Business Review, The New Republic, Slate, and other publications. In 2007, he was a Japan Society
Media fellow in Tokyo, where he studied the country’s massive comic industry.

For the last six years, London‐based Thinkers 50 named him, alongside Michael Porter and
Clayton Christensen, as one of the top 15 business thinkers in the world.

Pink’s TED Talk on the science of motivation is one of the 10 most‐watched TED Talks of all time,
with more than 19 million views. His RSA Animate video about the ideas in his book, Drive, has
collected more than 14 million views.

He currently serves on the advisory boards of RiseSmart, Betterment Institutional, Heleo, and
Hubspot.

Before venturing out on his own 20 years ago, Dan worked in several positions in politics and
government, including serving from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore.

He received a BA from Northwestern University, where he was a Truman Scholar and was elected
to Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Yale Law School. He has also received honorary doctorates from
Georgetown University, the Pratt Institute, the Ringling College of Art and Design, and Westfield
State University.

Pink and his wife live in Washington, DC. They have three children — a college junior, a college
freshman, and a high school freshman.