Ken Himmelman Joins Civitas Public Affairs Group as Principal in its Boston Office

BOSTON – Civitas Public Affairs Group announced today that Ken Himmelman, a seasoned leader in nonprofit management, global health, higher education, and democracy advocacy, is joining the firm as a Principal in the Boston office.

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Himmelman brings more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, program development, and institution building across sectors including global health, education, and civic engagement. He currently serves as Managing Partner of Shared America, a pro-democracy campaign launched in early 2024. Before that, Himmelman was Executive Director of the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at the Harvard Kennedy School, a global hub for leadership learning dedicated to cultivating principled, effective public leaders who drive positive change.

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“Ken's extraordinary experience at the intersections of leadership development, global health, and civic engagement reflects his deep commitment to supporting organizations that drive real change. We are thrilled to welcome him to Civitas, where his vision and collaborative approach will strengthen our work and help our clients tackle the urgent challenges that define this moment,” said Katherine Grainger, Managing Partner and Patrick Guerriero, Founding Partner at Civitas in a joint statement.

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Earlier in his career, Himmelman held senior leadership positions at several prominent nonprofit organizations. He served as Chief Program Officer at Health Leads, advancing solutions to address the social causes of poor health, and as Chief Program Officer at Partners In Health, the pioneering global health organization that delivers high-quality healthcare to some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

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He also served as Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Bennington College, where he helped start the college’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action, focused on civic and community engagement. In 2004, Himmelman co-founded Community IMPACT! USA, a national nonprofit network training young leaders to address education and economic justice issues.

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“I am so honored to be joining the Civitas team. I have followed their groundbreaking work for more than a decade and believe that they have one of the most powerful models for effective social change. I am thrilled to be working with them to take on some of the most pressing challenges we face as a society, at a particularly important time in our history,” said Himmelman.

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In addition to his leadership roles, Himmelman has advised a wide range of nonprofit organizations through consulting and board service. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, as well as a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and an M.A. in French Literature from Vanderbilt University.

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This addition to Civitas comes at an exciting time for the firm as it continues to expand its expertise and impact, supporting the nation’s leading philanthropists, nonprofit organizations, and movements to win on pressing issues and causes. Last year, Civitas joined Orchestra, a full-service communications company that enables Civitas to expand its social impact capabilities.

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On Ken Himmelman

“Ken was the executive director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School when I was faculty director of the Center. He left to join me in developing a nonprofit strategic communications campaign to address mis- and disinformation designed to undermine US democracy. Ken is a deep listener, an effective strategic thinker, and a strong leader. I look forward to continuing to work closely with him in his new role at Civitas.” (Deval Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts)

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“Having known Ken throughout his entire career, including working with him for 5 years on our own non-profit start up, I can say that Ken has the incredibly rare combination of being an exceptional strategic thinker and a grounded leader who can deliver tangible outcomes. He knows what it takes to achieve success on all levels — from neighborhood projects to global programs — and has led a diverse range of organizations successfully throughout his entire 35-year professional career.” (David Milner, CEO, NuGen Capital)

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“Ken has been a leadership force for our work at Shared America.  He has a rare gift to cast a clear and compelling vision of who we can be as a nation when we are operating at our best.  He is a coalition builder by nature and he finds ways to surface dilemmas and solve problems with creativity, speed, and care. Ken combines a rare commitment to excellence in all he does with a genuine humility and lack of ego that empowers the team to win and grow together.  Civitas is lucky to have him and is a perfect fit.” (Jeff Nelson, Co-Founder and former CEO of OneGoal)

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“Ken is one of the rare leaders who brings both strategic vision and deep humanity to every room he’s in. When I first became CEO of Health Leads, Ken helped us reimagine our mission and strategy — expanding our focus from health care alone to include public health and the power of community. Ken has a gift for listening, synthesizing complexity, and inspiring action — qualities that make him such a powerful partner to leaders and communities alike. I can’t think of a better match than Ken and Civitas.” (Alex Quinn, CEO of Health Leads)

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“Ken brought tremendous nuance and skill to PIH at a pivotal time of growth for the organization. His ability to generate partnerships and build strategy using a pitch perfect blend of creativity and pragmatism helped strengthen our work across continents and amplify it nationally.” (Ophelia Dahl, Co-Founder and Chair of Partners in Health)

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About Civitas Public Affairs Group

Civitas Public Affairs Group brings proven bipartisan experience developing innovative advocacy campaigns to win substantive policy change at the local, state, and national levels. With offices in Boston, New York City, and Washington, DC, Civitas works closely with the nation’s leading philanthropists, nonprofit organizations, and movements to substantively impact pressing issues and causes.

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About Orchestra

Orchestra is a strategic communications and marketing company built for today’s complex and fragmented world. From decoding audiences to designing bold strategies, Orchestra integrates people, platforms, and stories that stick to help clients build lasting influence. The company offers programs that span from the highest level strategic business counsel through to tactical execution. Orchestra brings together 700+ people with experience across consumer and lifestyle, technology, nonprofit and philanthropy, real estate, sports, travel, hospitality, and more. Made up of leading firms BerlinRosen, Civitas, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward, and Small Girls PR, Orchestra also launched Brightmode, a talent acquisition firm for communications professionals, and Versus Media Group, a strategy-first political media team.