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William J. Grinker |
William J. Grinker founded Seedco, a national community development intermediary, in 1986. He served as Treasurer of Seedco's Board from 1987 to 1998, when he assumed full-time status as President and CEO of the organization. He was succeeded by Diane Baillargeon in 2003, and now serves as President and Chair of Seedco Financial Services and Secretary of the Seedco Board. Grinker has devoted his career to finding innovative solutions to the many challenges faced by disadvantaged individuals and families.
Prior to assuming the Presidency of Seedco, Grinker was a principal in Human Service Solutions, a consulting firm providing program development, management capacity building, and strategic planning services to nonprofit organizations in the health and human services fields. In 1990, he created the Substance Abuse Strategy Initiative at The Wagner School of Public Service of New York University (where he was appointed Clinical Professor) to advance knowledge of strategies for substance abuse prevention and treatment. In 1992, this effort was merged into the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, where Mr. Grinker served as a Senior Vice President until September 1993.
From 1986 to 1989, Grinker was Commissioner of the New York City Human Resources Administration, at that time the nation's largest local social service organization serving upwards of 2.5 million residents with a budget of over $6 billion, 30,000 employees, and 1,000 contract organizations. In this role Grinker oversaw City programs for Medicaid, welfare and employment services, child welfare and child support, day care and Head Start, senior citizen and family services, and homeless programs.
He was President of Grinker Associates, Inc., from 1982 to 1986, a consulting firm integrating the experience and capacity of the private, public, and non-profit sectors in developing solutions to public policy issues. In 1974 Grinker founded the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), which designed and tested large-scale experimental programs in welfare reform, employment and training, housing, and social services. As president of MDRC until 1982, Grinker was a primary subject of The Underclass, Ken Auletta's 1981 book examining the factors that hinder people from raising themselves out of poverty and the programs that are effective in helping them.
Other positions Grinker has held include: Senior Program Officer, The Ford Foundation; Assistant Commissioner, Community Development Agency of the City of New York; Assistant Director for Operations of the United Planning Organization of Washington, D.C.; and Staff Attorney for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and U.S. Department of Labor.
Grinker holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an LL.B. from Harvard University. He has taught courses at Princeton and The New School and lectured at Harvard, Syracuse, NYU and Columbia. He is the author of several monographs and Op-Ed articles in a variety of publications.
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