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Gail Christopher
has blazed a career trail from holistic health into
government reinvention, citistate issues and fostering
rebirth in public institutions coast to coast.
Dr. Christopher is
presently director of the Health Policy Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, engaged in a multi-year program focused on improving health outcomes for minority Americans. From 2000 to 2003, she headed the Innovations
in American Government Program at Harvard’s
John F. Kennedy School of Government. Prior to that, she served for
several years as a board member, then co-chair and
director of the Alliance for Redesigning Government,
an affiliate of the National Academy of Public Administration
in Washington. She is
also a Fellow of the Academy.
Christopher is a
licensed holistic health practitioner, a Naprapath, and has her own holistic health organization, The Body Owners Workshop.
She formed her own consulting firm which designed
and administered such national initiatives as the Americans
All National Multicultural Education Program, the
Family Development Institute and Nutrassessment
Nutritional Health Centers. She serves on a number
of national boards and commissions, including the
Silver Ribbon Panel of the National Head Start Program.
Christopher attributes
her commitment to public sector innovation to insights
gained through her work with thousands of patients
during the 1970s and 80s. She says, “It became
clear to me, as I helped people become more empowered
to take responsibility for their own health and
well-being, that government sponsored programs that
addressed such issues as disease prevention, violence
reduction and economic development had to become
more accountable for performance and results. My
work at the Alliance for Redesigning Government
focused primarily on performance and innovation
within state and local governments.”
As Director of the
Alliance, Christopher was responsible for managing
several ongoing national projects including consultant
services to government agencies, a nonprofit/public
sector performance Design Lab, a learning network
web site, a nationally distributed quarterly magazine
on public sector innovation, and a citizen trust
and engagement project.
She has lectured
widely across the U.S. on such themes as government
reinvention, regional collaborations and human service
challenges.
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