Karl Zinsmeister
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Walter Karl Zinsmeisterhttp://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2008/pdf/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2008-7.pdf (born 1959) American journalist, researcher, and consultant. From 2006 to 2009, he served in the White House as President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's chief domestic policy adviser, and Director of the White House
Domestic Policy Council The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, Cabinet, and White House officials. The Council is part of the Office ...
. In 2016 he created the '' Almanac of American Philanthropy''—the definitive reference on America's use of private resources to solve public problems—and is now an adviser and national authority on the power of voluntary action and civil society to spur innovation and social refinement in the U.S.


Career

Zinsmeister is a graduate of
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
where he studied
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and was a member of
Manuscript Society Manuscript Society is a senior society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Toward the end of each academic year 16 rising seniors are inducted into the society, which meets twice weekly for dinner and discussion. Manuscript is reputedly ...
. He also spent time as a special student at Trinity College, Dublin, in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. He won college
rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
championships in both the U.S. and Ireland. His first job in Washington was as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
. He was later named DeWitt Wallace Fellow, and eventually appointed to the J.B. Fuqua Chair at the
American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. A ...
, where over three decades he researched a range of topics extending from social welfare and demographics to economics and cultural trends. Zinsmeister's writing has been published in periodicals ranging from ''
The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' to ''
Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...
'' and the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' to the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. He has been an adviser to many research and policy groups, and has testified before Congress and Presidential commissions on topics like family policy, daycare, farm subsidies, and the Iraq war. He has made many appearances on television and radio. He has written 13 books, including one released simultaneous with the 2016 elections on the best ways to solve future social problems, a 2015 volume on how public policy is changed by savvy donors, and a 2014 look at charter school effectiveness (with a spinoff in the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''). He wrote two books of Iraq War reporting, and other works on education, economics, and population trends. He also created a storytelling cookbook, and a non-fiction comic book. In late 2015 he edited a book and published a companion essay in the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' predicting a revival of Catholic schools. In 2016, a major new reference book created by Zinsmeister, the '' Almanac of American Philanthropy'', was published after three years of in-depth research. The book has been described as the authoritative reference on private giving in the U.S. It contains sections on America's greatest givers, living and dead; the major achievements of American philanthropy in nine areas (including Medicine, Education, the Arts, Religion, Overseas giving, Local projects, and so forth); an annotated list of essential readings in the field; a collection of leading quotes on philanthropy; a 22-page foldout timeline mapping important philanthropic events in the U.S. from 1636 to 2015. Zinsmeister's long introductory essay analyzes the cultural importance of philanthropy to the success of the United States. He created a ''Compact Edition'' of the ''Almanac of American Philanthropy'' in 2017.


''The American Enterprise''

For a dozen years before becoming the White House Domestic Policy Adviser (1994 to 2006), Zinsmeister was editor-in-chief of ''
The American Enterprise ''The American Enterprise'' (''TAE'') was a public policy magazine published by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Its editorial stance was politically conservative, generally advocating free-market economics and a neoconservat ...
'', a national magazine covering politics, business, and culture. Zinsmeister was an embedded journalist during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and then served three additional months-long embeddings with combat units during the insurgency stage of the war. He shot a
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
about soldiers in Iraq, called "WARRIORS", which was funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and nationally broadcast by
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
. He wrote three books of Iraq reporting. '' Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq'', published in August 2003, was the first Iraq War book published by an embedded journalist. ''Dawn Over Baghdad: How the U.S. Military is Using Bullets and Ballots to Remake Iraq'' was one of the first portrayals of the insurgency phase of the Iraq War. '' Combat Zone: True Tales of G.I.s in Iraq'' was a rare non-fiction graphic novel from
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
.


White House employment

During his years in the West Wing, as director of the Domestic Policy Council, Zinsmeister was involved in policy making on topics like the 2008 mortgage and student-loan credit crises, immigration reform, housing, biotechnology and stem cell policies, airport congestion, education reform, transportation issues, health policy, faith-based schooling, an 8,000-job layoff in Ohio, poverty, crime, family policy, civil rights, and veterans affairs. Some published work produced by the White House Domestic Policy Council under Zinsmeister: * Dole/Shalala Commission report on improving care for wounded warriors * White House report on disadvantaged children served by faith-based urban schools * White House report on progress in stem-cell science * Immigration reform bill of 2007


Post-White House career

After leaving the White House, from 2009 to 2010, Zinsmeister became an executive in his native region of upstate New York with L. & J. G. Stickley, an Arts and Crafts furniture manufacturing firm founded by
Gustav Stickley Gustav Stickley (March 9, 1858 – April 15, 1942) was an American furniture manufacturer, design leader, publisher, and a leading voice in the American Arts and Crafts movement. Stickley's design philosophy was a major influence on American ...
. In 2011, he wrote a White House memoir. A storytelling cookbook, regional culture guide, and celebration of localism that he co-created with two of his three children, called ''Finger Lakes Feast,'' was published in 2012 and widely reviewed. Zinsmeister returned to Washington to serve as vice president at the
Philanthropy Roundtable The Philanthropy Roundtable is a nonprofit organization that advises conservative philanthropists. History The Roundtable was founded in 1987 as a project of the now-defunct Institute For Educational Affairs. It was founded as a conservative al ...
, an association of donors, where he produced more than a dozen books, 40 magazine issues, 50 podcast episodes, and many other products. These include his 2016 illustrated book ''What Comes Next? How private givers can rescue America in an era of political frustration''—which examines the relationship between politics and philanthropy in America, and presents a strategy for attacking national problems even if politics is gridlocked. ''The Almanac of American Philanthropy'', is his authoritative 1,342-page resource on the significance and history of the U.S. charitable sector. ''From Promising to Proven'', assesses the national importance of charter schools, and ''Agenda Setting'', is about how private donors transform American governance. Books he has edited in recent years include two examining the country's best programs for job re-training and helping difficult populations like the homeless, released prisoners, former addicts, and welfare recipients succeed in the workforce. ''Catholic School Renaissance'', analyzes the revival of inner-city Catholic schools and why that is important to the nation. ''Serving Those Who Served'' is a manual for the new field of philanthropy for veterans, service members, and their families—where Zinsmeister has been a leader, growing out of his military reporting and his veterans work at the White House. Zinsmeister has conducted in-depth research on the inventive power and importance of science philanthropy, which has powered innovations ranging from the world's greatest telescopes to medical breakthroughs like blood typing; organ transplants; vaccines for polio, yellow fever, and many other diseases; fundamental genetic discoveries; and seminal brain research; along with many other discoveries. He has uncovered much nearly unknown American philanthropic history, including essays on medical research, the importance of anonymity to private giving, even the existence of "national-security philanthropy" in the U.S.—by which donors have made crucial contributions to defense of the nation. He has analyzed who gives most to charity in the U.S., and tracked the rise of donations by Americans for overseas development work. He has catalogued the private philanthropy that was crucial to creation of the state of Israel. His biographies of great philanthropists include profiles of Julius Rosenwald, George Eastman, Alfred Loomis, Benjamin Rush, the Tappan brothers, and Oseola McCarty.


Personal life

Zinsmeister is married and has three children. He lives on a boat in the Sea Islands of South Carolina.


References


External links

*
Biography at Philanthropy Roundtable

Personal website

Zinsmeister PBS film

30-minute talk on philanthropy


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinsmeister, Walter Karl 1959 births American Enterprise Institute American male journalists George W. Bush administration personnel Living people New York (state) Republicans United States presidential advisors Washington, D.C., Republicans Yale College alumni