Chief Service Officer -
Keith J. Hart
Mr. Hart was recently appointed by Mayor Kevin Johnson to the position of Chief Service Officer for the City of Sacramento in May of 2010. From this position, Mr. Hart is responsible for leading efforts to mobilize Sacramentans to serve their communities and instill within citizens a commitment to civic participation. The position is part of an effort sponsored by the Cities of Service Coalition, a bi-partisan coalition of the mayors of large and small cities from across our country who will work together to engage citizens to address the great challenges of our time.
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Hart provided resource development assistance to public and private organizations, developed policies and procedures to incorporate civic engagement principles into organizations and worked with community leaders, program managers, foundations, state agencies, universitiesand research organizations to identify collaborative opportunities. He also participated in discussions and conferences regarding local, statewide and national civic engagement policyas it relates to public policy positions.
Prior to his consulting career, Mr. Hart was appointed Director of the Maryland Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism (the Maryland State Service Commission) in March 2004 until April 2009; based in Baltimore, MD. While in this position, he managed the daily operation and oversight of the organization and its $6 million budget. He worked with non-profits, small community and faith-based organizations and corporations to support volunteer service by brokering partnerships, establishing sustainable funding resources and creating effective monitoring systems. He possesses extensive knowledge of government entities and the legislative process. He also served as a peer reviewer with the American Association of State Service Commissions (AASSC) to assist other State Service Commissions with federal administrative system reviews and with the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations to accredit nonprofits with the Standards of Excellence seal of approval. Prior to his appointment as Director, Mr. Hart served as Acting Director and Director of Programs, and as a Commissioner on the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism. Throughout his tenure with the office, he represented the governor of Maryland on numerous boards, commissions and task forces.
Before serving with the Governor’s Office, Mr. Hart was the Program Director of the A STAR! in Western Maryland AmeriCorps Program at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, MD. He assisted with the efforts to build the Western Maryland Alliance for Service and Volunteerism and won the first ever CEO Award for National Service Excellence in Higher Education from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Prior to this, Mr. Hart served as a program development specialist at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and liaised with the National School and Community Corps in Philadelphia and New York City. Mr. Hart began his career in public service as an after-school program educator and volunteer forest firefighter with the AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) formerly based in San Diego, CA.
Mr. Hart was awarded a certificate in National Service Leadership by the National Service Leadership Institute, formerly administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. He was awarded admission into the Take Five Scholars program, completed graduate work at the Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Rochester. He also studied a year abroad at the American University in Cairo with a concentration in Archaeology and Arabic.
