George K Beard

GovernmentWise, Inc.
PO Box 820103
Portland, Oregon 97282-1103
503 772 0222
george.beard@governmentwise.com
www.governmentwise.com

It’s great to be affiliated through the PSG network with a strong, seasoned, and diverse team of professionals who share my belief that doing the public’s business is important and doing it well is imperative.

My practice focuses on public sector innovation, performance improvement, and development of next-generation leaders. My interest in these pursuits flows from two factors.  One is the worsening fiscal condition of the country and how it will exacerbate our ability in the future to fuel the important work of government.  The second problem I see is structural in nature.  Our service model for government was spawned in the 19th century and perfected in the 1950s.  It is too sluggish and too costly for a 21st century world and for a new cadre of citizens that I like to call, “The New Wired Majority.”

During my 30-year career, I’ve split my time between the public and private sectors.  Since 1993 I have worked for several technology and software firms (Unisys, Oracle, Retek) in a variety of roles (global alliance management, global account management, corporate communications, business development, consulting). Before that I spent nearly 15 years of public sector experience including stints with the U.S. Department of Justice, Bonneville Power Administration, State of Oregon, Multnomah County, and Santa Barbara County.

When I am not doing gigs with PSG or my own clients, I keep busy with a half-time appointment at the Mark O Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University—teaching, managing five exceptional summer internships - www.summerinternships.us - and working on my interesting projects.  Much of my current energy is devoted to the creation of a global city-to-city learning exchange and network called WorldC2C™.  I am also privileged to serve as a senior fellow with the Center for Digital Government.