ZOOMING IN ON OUR MEMBERS
The pandemic has certainly limited our opportunities to meet with members to get to know each other better (and Zoom meetings are not a great substitute). It has usually been at our dinners at Fort Myer or during our tours that we have had the opening to learn about the absolutely amazing backgrounds of our members.
So we thought it would be nice to start spotlighting our members in our newsletter or on our website. In this inaugural effort, we would like to introduce you to Jim Carr.
Jim Carr has been a Washington, D.C. tour guide for more than 20 years, and he is currently the President of the Guild of Professional Tour Guides of Washington, D.C. For the last eight years, he also served as the Co-chair of the Guild’s Certified Master Guide Program, conducting education and training programs for the top tier (“Top Guns”) of the three-tier system.
Separately, Jim has conducted walking tours for the Smithsonian Institution as a Study Leader (like Ed Bearss did!). On May 27, 2022, he will be conducting a worldwide, virtual tour of Arlington National Cemetery for the Smithsonian. We will share a link when it becomes available in the spring.
Jim was a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving as a Civil Affairs Brigade Commander. His tours included: “Operation Desert Storm” in the Middle East; “Operation Just Cause,” where he served as a Military Advisor to President Guillermo Endara of Panama; and a deployment to Sarajevo, dealing with Serbian and Croatian factions. He specialized in restoring government services and working with the State Department and international NGOs during humanitarian and refugee crises (and with the recovery of art treasures). His military awards include the Legion of Merit (OLC) and the Bronze Star Medal. Jim is currently completing a book entitled, Sacred Space: Arlington National Cemetery
Jim is a self-described “government junkie” who worked at all levels of government. Twice a student leadership intern at the United Nations, he later worked for the Maryland Municipal League in Annapolis, Maryland, where he became well-versed in issues of importance in local government. He has worked in eight federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as Dean of the EPA Institute, with nationwide responsibility for Education and Training. In addition, Jim was detailed for one year to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, serving as the Deputy Director of the Kuwait Leadership Development Program. As the Deputy Director, he trained newly appointed government ministers in the U.S. and Kuwait.
As a young federal employee, Jim was nominated for a William Jump Award for “Outstanding Service in Public Administration.” He later received an EPA Gold Medal for serving as the Kuwait Coordinator of an EPA technical team assessing the damage done by more than 700 oil fires in Kuwait. Jim also won a Silver Medal for establishing the EPA Fellows Program.
He also created the “HUES”(Howard University Environmental Specialist) Program, taking EPA clerical employees in dead-end positions and putting them through a series of humanities and science courses, thereby qualifying them for promotion into professional, career-ladder occupational opportunities.
Jim served as an Interagency Group Leader for Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) for four, two-year terms and received an Outstanding Service Award from the PMF Alumni Association. He served on the National Council of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), and as president of the National Capital Area Chapter of ASPA, the largest in the country.
Jim is past Chair of the Executive Advisory Board of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy and has served on the Board for 20 years.
Jim received a BA and MA in Political Science from the University of Cincinnati; an MS in Public Information from American University; and a MPA and DPA (ABD) in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. Jim is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.
Jim is a Lifetime Member of the Civil Affairs Association and the Reserve Officers Association. He is a Fellow of the Reserve Forces Policy Board and a long time docent at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. He is also a member of the American Alliance of Museums; The Society of Architectural Historians; The National Trust for Historic Preservation; The New-York Historical Society; The Theodore Roosevelt Association; and The Sierra Club.
It is with great sadness that we note the passing of our long-time members Doug Smith, John Restall, Buzz Carnahan, Dan Smith, and Jack Pearl. Please keep their families and friends in your thoughts. We miss you genetlemen. Not only did you enjoy CW history, but you also made history yourselves!
Their backgrounds are amazing, and in their memory we would like to share their biographies. In their honor and remembrance, we have created a separate page on our website to detail the lives they lead and the legacy they have left for us all. That page is available by clicking HERE or by visiting https://cwrtdc-newsletters.blogspot.com/p/in-memoriam.html