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What is QUEST?
Leadership
Executive Director
Executive Director, QUEST Honors Fellows Program
Ralph J. Tyser Teaching Fellow and
Executive Education Senior Fellow
3570K Van Munching Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Phone: (301) 405-2427
gsuarez@rhsmith.umd.edu
J. Gerald Suarez has joined the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business
as an Executive Education Senior Fellow and Executive Director of the Quality Enhancement
Systems and Teams program after serving with distinction for eleven years at the
White House under two administrations. He served as its Director of Presidential
Quality, the first such post in the institution’s history. In this capacity, he
initiated efforts to inculcate systems thinking and organizational redesign into
the White House Communications Agency, the White House Military Office, and the
Executive Office of the President of the United States. He also served as Director
of Customer Support and Organizational Development for the White House Military
Office, where he spearheaded an organizational transformation that involved over
2,200 personnel.
Suarez traveled aboard Air Force One and Presidential helicopters in numerous missions
worldwide. He received many Presidential awards and commendations for his work in
support of the Executive Office of the President, including the Exceptional Civilian
Service Medal, the White House Distinguished Service Award, the Commander-in-Chief
Coin, and the White House Certificate for Meritorious Service.
Prior to his White House assignments, he worked for the Office of the Under Secretary
of the Navy’s Total Quality Leadership Office and for the Navy Personnel Research
and Development Center in San Diego, California, where he served as a researcher,
instructor, and consultant for both the Department of the Navy and the Department
of Defense (DoD).
Suarez has produced several publications and instructional videotapes on teamwork,
organizational redesign, and how to manage fear in the workplace. His publications
and training strategies for educating the Defense workforce in quality management
received DoD-wide distribution. His work has been showcased in international publications
such as the Harvard Deusto Business Review and Revista Zona Comercial, as well as
in national publications such as the Journal for Quality and Participation and
Executive
Excellence.
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