William B. Eimicke

Focus areas: Big data, sustainability

William B. Eimicke is Professor of Practice in International and Public Affairs and the founding director of the Picker Center for Executive Education of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. The Picker Center runs the School's Executive MPA program (EMPA), SIPA's audio-visual case study program, and the school's executive training programs. Eimicke teaches courses in management, cross sector partnerships, applied policy analysis, and innovation. He also teaches at Peking University and the Universidad Externado de Colombia.

Through the Picker Center, Eimicke has helped create and has directed a number of major executive training programs including the Brazil Mayors program, Hong Kong Civil Service Advanced Leadership Program, and a wide range of customized programs for public and private organizations in USA, China, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Singapore, UNDP, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Colombia. Since 2013, the Picker Center has created 10 short documentary film cases with companion written cases covering cross sector partnerships and program innovation in New York City, Brazil, India, Ghana, Afghanistan, Rwanda and the Republic of Congo with new student-initiated cases under development in Peru and Costa Rica.

Professor Eimicke also serves on the Advisory Board of Central Park Conservancy's Institute for Urban Parks which helps urban parks across NYC, around the USA and throughout the world improve their quality, accessibility and financial stability, often through cross-sector partnerships. He is also the co-author (with fellow SIPA faculty member Howard W. Buffett) of Social Value Investing-A Management Framework for Effective Partnerships (Columbia University Press 2018).

He served as FDNY Deputy Fire Commissioner for Strategic Planning and Policy (2007-10) under Mayor Michael Bloomberg where he led numerous innovations to reduce response time to fires, establish a computerized risk-based inspection program, and provide advanced management training for senior Fire and EMS officers (FOMI). The FDNY Officers Management Institute (FOMI) was designated as a Top 50 Innovations in American Government for 2008 and 2009 by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Eimicke previously served as housing "czar" of New York State under the late Governor Mario Cuomo, helping to create and launch the massive Housing New York program, producing over 200,000 units of rehabilitated and new affordable apartments over 15 years.  He also worked on the housing team of Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review and has worked affordable housing policy and projects across the United States. As New York Governor Cuomo's deputy secretary for policy and programs, he represented the governor on all matters concerning housing, community and economic development and sports. Eimicke also served on the transition teams for NYS Attorney General-elect Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor-elect Giuliani, and as an advisor to former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith.

In 2008, he was named to the Irish Voice newspaper's inaugural Irish Education 100, a listing of leading figures in education across North America. Eimicke holds a BA, MPA and PhD from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He previously taught at Syracuse University, Indiana University, Russell Sage College, the State University of New York at Albany, and Baruch College of the City University of New York.

Education

• PhD, Maxwell School of Syracuse University
• MPA, Maxwell School of Syracuse University

Honors and Awards

• Outside member of the Central Park Conservancy Institute for Urban Park Management 
• Advisory board member, Centre for Public Impact (A BCG Foundation), London, England