Jerome F. Climer
Jerome F. Climer, the catalyst for establishment of the Congressional Institute, Inc. in 1987, and the Public Governance Institute, Inc. in 2001, served as President of both organizations. He retired as president of the Congressional Institute mid-2007 and consults with its Board and leadership while he continues as president of the Public Governance Institute. The Congressional Institute, which does not advocate on policy positions, works with Members of Congress and the public, seeks to improve the way the U.S. Congress addresses complex policy questions through research, strategic planning and training conferences. The Public Governance Institute has worked on bipartisan comity building with the Congress, works with democratically-elected officials around the globe on public governance, and researches and publishes information about proven methods for leading public-policy change.
Mr. Climer’s experience in public administration, public policy and issue development spans a lifetime and began in the late '60s and early '70s, when he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture. From 1978 to 1984, he was Chief of Staff to Congressman Ed Bethune of Arkansas. Between 1985 and 1990, he served as a member of the U.S. House Republican Leadership staff.
A recognized expert in the process of policy development and managing change, Jerry is sought after to brief private-sector and news organizations, visiting parliamentarians, and public-policy researchers on the process of building public-policy options, consensus building, leadership of complex public-policy change and the operations of legislative and executive governing bodies.
He has a B.S. in Public Administration from the University of Arkansas.
He has teamed with Daryl Conner, the godfather of modern thinking about managing change and author of Managing at the Speed of Change, to co-author, Leading Public-Sector Change, a soon-to-be published guide for understanding change management in the breakneck pace of the global Information Age. He is also co-author of the CongressionalInstitute’s forthcoming handbook for congressional staff.