David W. Giles

With over twenty years of leadership experience spanning academia, nonprofits, and local government, Giles oversees curriculum development for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. He leads a team of writers, editors, and multimedia content producers who partner with Harvard faculty to produce teaching case studies, supplemental instructional materials, practitioner-oriented publications, and technology-based learning tools for use in the classroom and beyond. Giles also manages the publication processes for Bloomberg Harvard teaching and learning content as well as relationships with the Initiative’s global distribution partners.

He is the author of numerous Harvard Kennedy School teaching case studies and co-author/editor of books and journal articles on organizational leadership and design, city leadership and management, crisis management, and public health preparedness. Prior to joining the Initiative, Giles was associate director of Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Crisis Leadership (PCL). At PCL, he managed curriculum development for a portfolio of Harvard Kennedy School executive education programs on crisis leadership and risk management chaired by professors Dutch Leonard and Arnold Howitt. In partnership with Howitt, he also designed and offered Harvard Extension School courses on emergency preparedness and disaster relief and recovery.

Giles was previously a researcher at the National Academies in Washington, D.C., and a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania, where he partnered with municipal leaders and community groups to develop social service programs in small and medium-sized cities.

Giles received his Master of Arts from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University and his Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College.