John M. Bridgeland | Markle
John M. Bridgeland | Markle

John M. Bridgeland

CEO, Civic Enterprises
Former Director, USA Freedom Corps
Former Director, White House Domestic Policy Council
Member, Rework America

John Bridgeland is CEO of Civic Enterprises, a public policy firm in Washington, D.C. President Obama appointed Bridgeland to the White House Council for Community Solutions. Previously, Bridgeland served as Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council in the first term of President George W. Bush. He also became Assistant to the President and first Director of the USA Freedom Corps, where he coordinated policy on international, national, community, and faith-based service in the aftermath of 9/11. Bridgeland is the author of the book, Heart of the Nation: Volunteering and America’s Civic Spirit. He is also Vice Chairman of Malaria No More and Senior Advisor to the United Nations Special Envoy for Malaria, which is working to mobilize the public and private sectors to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. He was also the co-convener of ServiceNation, a Presidential forum with Senators John McCain and Barack Obama on September 11, 2008, and a national summit that showcased a comprehensive plan, which became the basis for the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act that was signed into law in 2009. His work on the high school dropout crisis helped bring national attention to the issue, with the TIME cover story “Dropout Nation” and two Oprah Winfrey shows prompted by his report, The Silent Epidemic. Over the last four years, he has co-authored the annual report, Building a Grad Nation, that launched a “Civic Marshall Plan” to meet the national goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020, which for the first time the nation is on pace to do.