David B. Muhlhausen
Senior Value Optimization Executive Director
Identifying, Shaping, & Capturing New Opportunities to Sustain Growth Objectives
Maximizing stakeholder value by aligning resources to the defined vision and mission and building internal and external talent resources to ensure organizational productivity and efficiency. Apply a keen sense for quality and accuracy in the research and dissemination of information for critical investment decisions.
Drive operational excellence for high-visibility organizations by focusing on:
Strategic Alignment
positioning the organization at the forefront of its market segment by aligning all resources (intellectual, technical and financial) around its defined vision, mission and commitments to ensure value improvement for all stakeholders.
Talent Management
determining the knowledge base for teams, assigning the right people to the right tasks and providing the tools, training, accountability and communication to achieve individual, team and organizational success.
Developing Partnerships
acknowledging the value of key business partnerships, building relationships that provide necessary information, connectivity and influence to ensure objectives can be realized.
Research Quality
ensuring that data used to make critical investment decisions is sourced with an eye to quality of methodology, accuracy in content and understanding in communication to those in need of the information.
Achievements
Work History
The lead research, evaluation, and demonstration agency of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Director | 2017-2021
Advocated evidenced-based policymaking. Set the annual criminal justice research, evaluation, and demonstration agenda. Exercised final authority over all grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts awarded by the NIJ. Planned annual budgets, led staffing decisions, and drove strategic planning and agency reorganization.
- $79+ million in annual funding for 140 projects accomplished as the first bureau to send all funding decisions to DOJ Office of Justice Programs review for upcoming calendar years.
- Garnered a higher level of quality in grant funding by awarding 40 grants for randomized controlled trials to rigorously evaluate programs.
- Bolstered the scientific rigor of the organization’s research by formulating six interdisciplinary strategic research plans to produce hundreds of proposals in four years.
- Focused the agency on conducting scientific research to analyze the performance of criminal justice programs and provided stakeholders with useful information.
- 71% reduction in product development time achieved by guiding creation of the new highly predictive Federal Bureau of Prison’s recidivism risk assessment tool from concept through rollout and testing to meet congressional mandate.
- 11,000 Twitter followers, 2,300 grant reports, 350 NIJ reports, and a 33% increase in journal article sponsorship attained over four years by tapping into social media and other channels to enhance access to and dissemination of knowledge, information, and tools.
- Turned around negative employee satisfaction trend, improved processes, and generated a more engaging, proactive culture by identifying issues and involving staff to devise solutions.
- Instilled a positive business culture by resolving inconsistencies in addressing employee performance and conduct while laying the groundwork for effective terminations.
- Improved interdisciplinary collaboration and team building by removing restrictive disciplinary silos to enable social and physical scientists to innovate research solicitations.
- Restored the agency’s high-profile international status by dramatically increasing coordination with the Department of State by spearheading delegations of staff to UN conferences in South Korea, Austria, and Australia.
- Hired 13 positions after a three-year hiring freeze and led a comprehensive multipronged strategy to improve agency culture and introducing custom training modules for all staff to enhance performance.
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The most widely supported public policy think tank in the U.S. with over 500,000 members and 300 employees.
Research Fellow, Empirical Policy Analysis | 2010-2017
Evaluated the effectiveness of federal social programs. Performed policy analysis, research, and advocacy on policy issues including criminal justice, homeland security, employment and training, education, election reform, and government reform. Advised members of Congress and staff as well as Executive Branch officials on the effectiveness of federal social programs. Edited the “Blueprint for Reorganization” publications.
- Testified before Congress seven times on topics such as evidence-based policymaking, budgetary impact on children’s programs, small business disaster assistance, drug courts, prisoner re-entry, and crimes against the homeless.
- Ensured content quality by coordinating SME writing into two publications that produced policy recommendations for the reorganization of the federal government in response to a Presidential Executive Order.
- Increased organizational awareness by providing expert congressional testimony and providing commentary for TV and print media.
Senior Policy Analyst | 2003-2010
- Heightened knowledge and awareness of congressional lawmakers on topics such as prisoner re-entry, law enforcement, juvenile justice, corrections, election reform, and capital punishment.
Policy Analyst | 2001-2003
- Improved organizational brand value by providing expertise for congressional testimony and media commentary.
- Enriched decision making by delivering research findings on law enforcement and policing issues in multiple testimonies before Congress.
- Established recognition by President Biden (then a U.S. Senator) for the think tank team’s ability to assess the effectiveness of various federal grant programs.
Adjunct Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University | 2006-2017
Taught Policy and Program Evaluation and a course on Statistical Methods for Policy Analysis for graduate students.
Security Clearance
Maintain active Top Secret Security Clearance
Education
Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Public Policy & Master of Policy Sciences (M.P.S.)
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
in Political Science & Justice Studies
Frostburg State University
Council on Criminal Justice, Member
Selected Publications
Testimonies
Statistical Software Experience
Stata, SPSS