John Bridgeland is Executive Chairman of the Office of American Possibilities, a civic moonshot factory to tap the entrepreneurial talent of Americans to solve public challenges together across divides. In that capacity, he is Co-Founder and CEO of the COVID Collaborative, a national platform to combat COVID-19; Co-Chairman of Welcome.US to engage Americans in supporting the resettlement of Afghan, Ukrainian and other refugees; Co-Founder of ACT NOW, a ground-up effort to re-envision community safety and policing; Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of More Perfect, a national initiative to align efforts in democratic renewal around 5 “Sustainable Democracy Goals;” and Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Dignity.us: A Citizens’ Initiative to Address Hate-Fueled Violence in America launched at the White House United We Stand Summit.
He is also Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of the Service Year Alliance, an initiative to create a civilian national service counterpart to military service in the United States; Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Malaria No More to end malaria deaths in Africa; and Co-Convener of the Grad Nation campaign to address the high school dropout crisis.
Previously, Bridgeland was appointed by President Obama to serve on the White House Council for Community Solutions. He also served as Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Assistant to the President, and first Director of the USA Freedom Corps after 9/11 under President George W. Bush. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Virginia School of Law and has given commencement addresses at the College of William & Mary, Johns Hopkins University, Saint Anselm College, Averett University, Hamline University, Ripon College, Westwood College, and Artist Corps. In addition, he played tennis on the Harvard Varsity Team and founded Tennis for America in 2020 with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, which awarded him their “Lifetime Achievement Award,” presented by Wimbledon Champion Stan Smith. He is the author of the book, Heart of the Nation: Volunteering and America’s Civic Spirit.
