Thomas Kurek

THOMAS KUREK,MPA,PMP Baltimore, MD 21218 ♦-♦- Proven leader with 10 years’ experience in community outreach, economic development, operations, program and project management and communications. The facet of my work ethic that I am most proud of is my tenacity. My experience, along with this strong character trait allows me to stand out from other individuals in my willingness to take on any challenge and build consensus while creating unique solutions to ensure positive resolutions. Seeking a role that builds on this tenacity to improve the work of the public and private sectors. P R O F E S S I O N A L E X P E R I E N C E NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS (DCA) TRENTON, NJ Senior Program Manager, Sandy Recovery Division, Compliance and Monitoring- Created and administered the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation policies establishing the eligibility criteria and 12 step process for over 8,000 grantees to rebuild their homes with funding from the Department of Housing and Development Community Development Block Grant program. § Charged with establishing and implementing a new operations plan by the Commissioner of DCA. Exceeded the mandate to have 500 grants signed in 30 days (zero grants had been signed in previous 12 months), by immediately designing and managing the implementation of a five-step process throughout the nine county operation centers. The process and successful management changes led to over 3,000 grants being signed in 6 months and over 8,000 throughout the life of the program. § Led a communications process that included over 50 town halls with homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy and 30 conference calls with local government officials. § Led a data cleanup process that consisted of over 25,000 applications. Managed and trained over 30 employees that led to HUD clearing DCA of any potential concerns with data collection and storage. § Developed and managed the $215M budget for the Resettlement Grant program. Designed the program’s policies and procedures for eligibility and monitoring, and trained five personnel in the monitoring of the grantees. MELISSA MURRAY BAILEY FOR MAYOR CAMPAIGN PHILADELPHIA, PA Policy Director 2015 Constructed policy proposals and led campaign efforts for the Melissa Murray Bailey campaign for Mayor of Philadelphia. § Organized and led over 100 campaign events, town halls and meetings with local civic and neighborhood organizations, as well as business, non-profit, education and community leaders throughout the city of Philadelphia to gain insights on how to best serve the city of Philadelphia’s constituents’ needs. § Created an economic plan designed to make Philadelphia a more business friendly city with a focus on creating over 100,000 jobs and attracting international headquarters. § Developed a private/public partnership education plan that would ensure workforce and college readiness for Philadelphia’s high school students. § Designed a sharing economy initiative that would make Philadelphia’s government a leader in partnering with the private sector to better the lives of its population in the new economy. Continued CENTER CITY DISTRICT (CCD) OF PHILADELPHIA PHILADELPHIA, PA Project Manager 2012 Intrinsic to the crafting of the annual State of Center City report distributed to thousands of businesses a year to market the work the CCD performs during the year. § Recruited and worked to retain retail and restaurants to the district. Worked as a liaison between those business and city government to help obtain permits and grants to improve the businesses. § Created strategy for CCD to improve its 20+ schools. Worked with the Pennsylvania State government to compile the information needed to qualify the CCD as an approved organization for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit which would allow them to raise funding from businesses to improve schools and enable the businesses to donate up to $750K/year and receive 90% back in tax credits. ECONOMY LEAGUE OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA PHILADELPHIA, PA Research Analyst 2011 Analyzed and reported on the strengths and weaknesses of the region’s economy, governmental structure, infrastructure and workforce. § Led 20+ roundtable discussions with 100+ regional/economic leaders that resulted in the creation of initiatives to improve Infrastructure, Education, Talent Development and Business Growth that all have been published in “World Class Philadelphia.” DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON, D.C. Project Manager, Office of Financial Education- Responsible for coordinating the financial literacy efforts of 20 federal agencies and hundreds of private organizations. § Organized 100+ events to promote best practices in financial literacy, including the OECD-US Treasury International Conference on Financial Literacy. § Assisted in the development of a 13-point plan for the first-ever National Strategy for Financial Literacy designed to help to improve the financial literacy of all Americans. The National Strategy leveraged techniques learned through global research of best practices to improve the financial literacy of individuals. § Managed the work of the Presidential Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, which consisted of private sector individuals from a diverse set of organizations with relevant backgrounds, during the development and writing of the Annual Report on the State of Financial Literacy in the United States submitted to the President. E D U C A T I O N UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, FELS INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT Masters of Public Administration with Certificate in Economic Development UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE Bachelor of Arts in Political Science A C T I V I T I E S a n d PHILADELPHIA, PA 2012 NEWARK, DELAWARE 2004 H O N O R S AWARD Recipient of the “Secretary of the Treasury Honor Award for Outstanding Service to the Nation”, presented by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson CERTIFICATE Project Management Professional – Project Management Institute Citizens Planning Institute of Philadelphia – Development and Zoning INTERESTS I have a passion for learning about cultures through their food and culture. In my spare time, I pursue this passion by going to unique restaurants, events and traveling to other countries to write about food and culture.