News & Stories

New Leader of Regional Red Cross Remembers Lessons of SIPA

Posted Jul 09 2012

In late May, the American Red Cross in Greater New York welcomed SIPA alum Josh Lockwood (MIA ’97) as its new chief executive officer. It’s the latest step in a career that has spanned the public, private, and nonprofit sectors since Lockwood left SIPA 15 years ago.

After graduating, Lockwood first worked for the U.S. embassy in the Congo and then the Department of Justice before joining HR&A Advisors, a real-estate and development consulting firm for which he had interned while studying at SIPA.He rose to become a principal of the firm before moving on to Habitat for Humanity New York as executive director. There he oversaw enormous organizational growth — the organization’s budget more than quadrupled during his tenure — and also became the face of Habitat NYC, which he represented on programs like Today and others.

Now Lockwood heads the nation’s largest and most active Red Cross chapter, overseeing its volunteer networks, disaster preparedness and response efforts, and educational outreach programs. Outsiders may not realize that the organization’s reach extends from the local to the national and international level: At the local level, Lockwood explained, the Red Cross pursues diverse initiatives — from volunteer educational outreach in low-income schools to on-the-ground support for victims of building fires. But the chapter’s work also extends to responding to national disaster situations, such as the Colorado wildfires and Florida hurricanes, and even to international efforts to eradicate measles.

Asked what he valued most about his time at SIPA, Lockwood said that he has drawn on the lessons of case-based courses longer and more frequently than he ever expected to. He also that access to leaders like Mayor David N. Dinkins — both in the classroom and in lecture settings — gave him incredible insight into cities, organizational management, and influence. Most valuable of all are the enduring personal and professional relationships he developed; today, Lockwood says, some of his closest friends are former SIPA classmates.

What advice does the CEO of Red Cross Greater New York Region have for current SIPA students? “Oftentimes the barrier to people getting where they want to be is self-belief and the courage to say ‘I really can do that’ whether you are successful the first time or not. Don’t sell yourself short. If you believe you can be a leader, you can be a leader.”