Reed S. Cordish (born June 18, 1974) is a fourth-generation American real estate developer, former professional tennis player, and former senior aide to President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. Cordish is a principal and partner at his family-owned Baltimore-based real estate investment and development firm

The Cordish Companies The Cordish Companies (previously The Cordish Company) is a U.S.-based real estate development and entertainment operating company with its headquarters on the 6th floor of the Pratt Street Power Plant in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded ...

where he was also affiliated with Live! Hospitality & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Cordish Companies.

Early life and education

Reed Saunders Cordish was born in 1974 in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He is the youngest son of former

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

professor Penelope (née Sales) and American real estate developer David S. Cordish. His grandfather is Paul L. Cordish. Both his parents were

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. Cordish attended the

Gilman School Gilman School is an all-boys independent school, independent, day school, day, college preparatory school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre ...

in Baltimore from first grade through high school. After graduating from Gilman, he went to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English in 1996. Cordish was awarded the William Roper Award for the member of the senior class who demonstrates scholastic and athletic excellence. While at Princeton, he played #1 singles on the Princeton tennis team for three years, earning a position on the All-Ivy Team and serving as captain of the team his senior year. He received the George Meyers Church Tennis Trophy for advancing tennis at Princeton in 1995 and 1996, and the Leon Lapidus Memorial Award awarded to the member of the men's tennis team with the greatest achievement and dedication.

Career

Real estate development

Cordish was a principal and partner of

, a

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

and entertainment company. He also presided over Live! Hospitality & Entertainment, an entertainment and restaurant industry operations company under the umbrella of The Cordish Companies, sharing the same physical address. At The Cordish Companies, Cordish helped develop the company's Live! brand, which has grown to encompass large-scale entertainment projects, sports-anchored districts, casinos, hotels and residential projects including Ballpark Village, the Power & Light District,

XFINITY Live! Xfinity Live! Philadelphia (known as Philly Live! during planning and construction) is a dining and entertainment complex located at the corner of 11th and Pattison Avenue in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex on the eastern edge of the for ...

, and Maryland Live! Casino. Live! Hospitality & Entertainment, provides hospitality and entertainment services, and operates multiple restaurants nationwide.

Tennis

Cordish played collegiate tennis at

. During his tenure at Princeton, he played #1 singles on the tennis team for multiple years, earning a position on the All-Ivy Team. After college, Reed continued his tennis career for almost two years, qualifying to play on the

Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to p ...

World Tour, and playing in the main draw of events including the ATP challenger in Brazil and the Legg Mason tour event in Washington D.C. Cordish and his family were lead donors in building the Cordish Family Pavilion at the Lenz Tennis Center at

Politics

Cordish directed the Agency Beachhead teams for President-Elect

during the 2016 presidential transition. In January 2017, Cordish was appointed

Assistant to the President The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...

for Intergovernmental and Technology Initiatives. Cordish was part of the Office of American Innovation, led by Trump Senior Adviser

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He is a son-in-law of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, through his marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior advisor in his father-in- ...

, with a directive to overhaul government functions using ideas from the business sector. Other members of the Office of American Innovation included National Economic Council Director

Gary Cohn Gary David Cohn (born August 27, 1960) is an American businessman and philanthropist who served as the 11th director of the National Economic Council and chief economic advisor to President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2018. He managed the administ ...

, Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor for Economic Initiatives

Dina Powell Dina Powell, also known as Dina Powell McCormick (née Habib, ; born June 12, 1973) is an Egyptian-American financial executive, philanthropist, and political advisor, best known for having been the United States Deputy National Security Advisor ...

, and Assistant to the President and Director of Strategic Initiatives Chris Liddell. Mr. Cordish played a principal role in domestic policy initiatives including Workforce Development and Criminal Justice Reform. Cordish resigned in February 2018, saying that he never planned to stay with the administration for more than a year and that his policy role was complete.

Personal life

In 2010, he married Margaret “Maggie” Katz in a ceremony at his home in Baltimore.Washington Jewish Week: "Cordish rides his Trump ties to the White House" by Dan Schere
April 13, 2017 He and his wife are close friends and neighbors of

and

Ivanka Trump Ivana Marie "Ivanka" Trump (; born October 30, 1981) is an American businesswoman. She is the second child of Donald Trump, the president of the United States, and his first wife, Ivana. Trump was a senior advisor in her father's first admi ...

. Ivanka introduced the couple who would later work in the White House under the Kushners. Mrs. Cordish is a student at Johns Hopkins University. Reed Cordish is active in his community, and currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 2012, the university opened and dedicated the Cordish Lacrosse Center. He is on the Board of Trustees for the National Medal of Honor Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordish, Reed Living people Businesspeople from Baltimore Princeton University alumni American male tennis players American businesspeople in real estate American Jews First Trump administration personnel 1974 births 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Cordish family Princeton Tigers men's tennis players