Robert L. Gordon III
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Robert "Rob" L. Gordon III is a cross-sector leader in the government, military, academic, nonprofit and high tech sectors. Gordon was appointed the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy on July 19, 2010, serving under
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. In the Defense Department he was responsible for defense-wide policy, program execution and oversight of global community support programs to care for, support, and empower 2 million Service members, 1.2 million military spouses, 2 million children, and over 2 million military families worldwide. He oversaw the Department of Defense school system (DoDEA) that at that time served approximately 90,000 students in 194 schools in 14 districts located in 12 foreign countries, seven states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. He oversaw voluntary education for over half a million active duty military service members; defense resale for over 500 commissaries and exchanges; military spouse education and career advancement for 1.2 million military spouses; child development and youth activities programs; state liaison initiatives; family assistance and non-medical counseling services; and collaborated with Congressional leaders, White House leaders, business and non profit sectors, chambers of commerce, academic communities, and a multitude of federal and state agencies to strengthen the resilience and well-being of the military community. Included within the purview of his office was the strategic development of quality education for more than one million military school aged children. His oversight included two Armed Forces Retirement Homes, casualty and mortuary affairs, and military funeral honors. During his tenure, Gordon spearheaded the creation of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership initiative, a partnership with currently more than 400 employer partners nationwide that have hired over 120,000 military spouses since the program's inception. He also led the effort to overhaul the infrastructure of 160 public schools on military installations across the United States. For his service he was awarded the
Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
. Gordon is currently the Senior Strategic Leader for AI and Digital Innovation at Document Storage Systems, Inc.(DSS). He is formerly the President of Be the Change, a social impact organization that creates manages national issue-based campaigns to inspire broad cross-sector coalitions to bring about positive changes in American society. Gordon was a senior executive at
City Year City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. City ...
, an education-based national service program that engages 17 to 24-year-old young adults to serve as full-time national service corps members at one of 27 cities across the United States as tutors and mentors, running after-school programs and leading youth leadership programs. Gordon was also the Founding Chair of ServiceNation: Mission Serve, a nationwide initiative established in 2009 within the
Service Nation ServiceNation was a campaign of Be The Change, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its mission is to rekindle an ethic of civic responsibility in America through universal national service. ServiceNation's goal was to exp ...
network that activates and convenes civilian and military organizations across the United States to more effectively focus on issues associated with Veterans, military families, and active-duty service members reintegrating back into the communities across the country.


Biography


Upbringing, education, and family life

Born in
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
, Gordon is the son of an American Army officer and a schoolteacher. Most of his youth was spent overseas in Taiwan and Germany. As a child he lived with his family in the Tian Mu district in Taipei, Taiwan, where he attended the
Dominican International School Dominican International School (), formerly Dominican School, is a private Catholic international school, located in Dazhi, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan. The Sisters of the Congregation of the Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic own ...
in downtown Taipei. He also lived in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
and
Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
, Germany, where he attended Augsburg American High School for two years. As a military brat, Gordon lived in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, and
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in the United States. He graduated in 1975 from General William J. Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a graduate of both West Point and
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 ...
.


Military career

Gordon entered the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
at West Point in 1975 and graduated in 1979 with a BS degree. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery. He went to Ranger School after his West Point graduation and afterwards was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) near Colorado Springs, Colorado. He held numerous artillery assignments and was selected to be the Aide-de-Camp to then Brigadier
General Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...
from 1981 to 1982. After his tour at Fort Carson he attended the Field Artillery Advanced Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was the Distinguished Graduate. Gordon then commanded a heavy artillery company in Bamberg, Germany, and soon thereafter was selected to return to West Point to teach in the Department of Social Sciences. He attended the
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (''abbrev.'' SPIA; formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of co ...
at Princeton University, and earned an MA degree in Public Affairs in 1989. Gordon was assigned to the Department of Social Sciences at West Point where he served as both an instructor and Assistant Professor of American Politics, and the Executive Officer of the Department. Gordon then won the prestigious
White House Fellows The White House Fellows program is a non-partisan fellowship established via Executive Order 11183 by President Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964. The fellowship is one of the United States' most prestigious programs for leadership and public se ...
hip and served in both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the White House. Following his fellowship he returned to field duty at Fort Carson, and eventually was assigned to West Point as the Director of American Politics in the Department of Social Sciences. His military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course, the
United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
and an instructor and graduate of the
National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...
. Gordon retired from the Army as a
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
.


Civilian national service

While at West Point, Gordon co-founded and was for six years the Executive Director of Service America, a privately funded program that brought together cadets at West Point and AmeriCorps members to serve as tutors, build low income housing, and improve environmental awareness in six cities in three states. Participants served in Federal Way, Bremerton, Seattle, and Yakima in Washington State; Chicago, Illinois, and Austin, Texas. Gordon joined
City Year City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. City ...
in 2006. He sat on City Year's Board of Trustees two years prior to joining the organization. As City Year's Senior Vice President of Civic Leadership and Chief People and Program Officer, Gordon led and oversaw the People and Program Group, including the Departments of Human Resources, Recruiting, Research and Evaluation, Program Development, and the Office of the Dean. He oversaw the recruitment, selection, education, systematic learning, and training of City Year's now 3,500 person youth corps; the continued development of City Year's alumni as "leaders for life"; and the engagement of children and teens in City Year's service and civic leadership initiatives in cities across the United States. He led the creation of City Year's "Give a Year" program, now named the City Year Alumni University Partners - a network of higher education institutions that provides benefits to members of the City Year network. As the Founding Chair of ServiceNation: Mission Serve, Gordon led the national effort to create partnerships between civilian service and military organizations that connect the two sectors in meaningful ways; address key issues for veterans, military families and active duty service members; and develop a new generation of leaders who can operate effectively in both service sectors to address the nation's most pressing security and policy challenges. Gordon, who was a member of the Leadership Council for
Service Nation ServiceNation was a campaign of Be The Change, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its mission is to rekindle an ethic of civic responsibility in America through universal national service. ServiceNation's goal was to exp ...
, worked with Ross Cohen, a fellow Princeton graduate and Army veteran, to create over 30 partnerships across the country that were inaugurated by First Lady Michelle Obama, and Dr. Jill Biden, on Veterans Day, November 11, 2009. ServiceNation: Mission Serve is now Got Your 6, a campaign of the Bob Woodruff Foundation focused on Veterans empowerment and bridging the civilian-military divide. Throughout his life he has been involved in leadership, strategy, service, policymaking and education. From 1992 to 1993, as a White House Fellow, Gordon served in the White House as the Director of Special Operations for the Office of National Service and helped to found the AmeriCorps program. Before serving in the White House, he was the Special Assistant to three Secretaries of Veterans Affairs - the late
Ed Derwinski Edward Joseph Derwinski (September 15, 1926 – January 15, 2012) was an American politician who served as the first Cabinet-level United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving under President George H. W. Bush from March 15, 1989 to Septe ...
and Jesse Brown; and Anthony Principi. Gordon has spent considerable time abroad researching national service systems. He was a member of a U.S. citizen's delegation to Italy in 1997 to help reform Italy's national service system. In 2006, he was a member of the American Jewish Committee Task Force to recommended a new national service strategy for the United States. Gordon is a member of the
French-American Foundation The French-American Foundation is a privately funded, non-governmental organization established to promote bilateral relations between France and the United States on topics of importance to the two countries, with a focus on contact between upc ...
and selected to its Young Leaders Program from 1994 - 1996, and a former board member. He served as a Center for Public Management Fellow at the
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...
in 1996, and is also a former President of the West Point-Highland Falls
Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...
and the recipient of Rotary's Distinguished Presidential Citation. In 2006 he was the recipient of Princeton University's Edward P. Bullard Distinguished Alumnus Award, and he was the recipient of the Bernard Gill Urban Service-Learning Leadership Award from
National Youth Leadership Council The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) is a national nonprofit organization located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that promotes service-learning in schools and communities across the United States. Founded in 1983 by Dr. James Kielsmeier, NYL ...
. Gordon moved into the world of high technology after leaving government service, and was the Chief Strategy Officer of Upskill, a smart glasses software company headquartered in Vienna, Virginia; and Chief Global officer of Connected Living. Gordon is a former board member of SeaChange Capital. He was the Practitioner in Residence at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) from 2007 to 2008, and was on SPIA's advisory council. He is an advisor to several technology startups, including Unite US and Warrior Centric Health. He is a board member of Grab the Torch, the Service Year Alliance, and AVID. In 2017 Gordon was the recipient of the Franklin Award by the
National Conference on Citizenship The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening civic life in America. They pursue their mission through a nationwide network of partners involved in a Civic Health Initiative, ...
.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Robert L. III 1957 births Living people People from Richmond, Virginia United States Military Academy alumni African-American military personnel United States Army Rangers Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni United States Military Academy faculty United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni National War College alumni United States Army colonels Recipients of the Legion of Merit National War College faculty Youth empowerment people American nonprofit executives