Meet SVP Young

In October 2020, Rashad Young was named new Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Howard University. In this role he oversees the implementation of the University’s strategic plan: Howard Forward. He also provides oversight on External Affairs as it relates to the federal government and on Real Estate as it pertains to our non-core assets.

Young joined Howard after having been the longest serving city administrator in DC Government history.  With a workforce of about 35,000 employees and a budget of $16 billion, Young ensured efficient, accountable, and well-managed service delivery to all residents, businesses, and visitors on behalf of the Mayor. His focus areas included: improving the District’s government operations and oversight, providing for continuous quality improvements in government programs and services, ensuring responsibility and transparency in the budgeting process and improving interagency coordination, collaboration, and communication.

Young has spent his entire career building expertise in public management, including 15 years as the assistant city manager or city manager in urban centers, namely Alexandria, Virginia, Greensboro, North Carolina, Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. Throughout his career, he has managed workforces totaling thousands of employees, led labor union contract negotiations, and overseen airport, convention center, water utility, human service, transit, public works, and public safety agency operations. 

Through his previous role as city manager of Alexandria, Young is credited with forming the Office of Performance and Accountability (OPA) to develop a culture and practice of performance management and data-driven decision making. He also formed the Department of Project Implementation (DPI) to more effectively manage the growing and expansive list of City infrastructure capital projects. In addition, Young enhanced civic engagement in Alexandria by developing and deploying technology such as Call.Click.Connect that allows citizens and stakeholders to communicate directly with staff at all levels of the organization.

His accomplishments in Dayton included maintaining fiscal discipline and achieving the upgrade of the City’s bond rating. His use of performance management systems to deliver top-notch city services helped city government be more transparent, outcome-based, and customer-focused.

Young received his bachelor’s degree in business management and MBA from the University of Dayton in Ohio. He is a national board member of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA), a credentialed manager and member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).