Sherman Gillums

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT SHERMAN GILLUMS

Dr. Sherman Gillums, Jr. is a military veteran, public policy leader, published author, and nationally recognized advocate for veterans and people with disabilities. He served 12 years in the United States Marine Corps, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 2 after a life-altering injury redirected his career from military service to systems-level leadership and advocacy.Gillums holds a master’s degree in business from the University of San Diego and a doctoral degree in education from the University of Dayton, with academic work focused on leadership, ethics, and public policy. He also completed executive education at Harvard Business School, further strengthening his expertise in organizational leadership and institutional decision-making.He currently serves in senior leadership at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, where he leads federal public policy and advocacy efforts on behalf of people living with paralysis and complex disabilities. Over the course of his career, Gillums has held senior leadership roles with Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.Previously, Gillums served as Director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he led and coordinated response efforts across 12 major disasters, shaping national emergency management policy and operational practice to better serve people with disabilities before, during, and after catastrophic events.In addition to his executive and policy work, Gillums has served on federal advisory committees and interagency working groups, advising on disability policy, veterans’ affairs, emergency management, and equity in public systems. He has also served on the Virginia Fair Housing Board, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the America’s Warrior Partnership.Gillums is a nationally published commentator on leadership, trauma, military service, and systems change, with appearances on CNN, Fox News, and C-SPAN, and he serves as an adjunct professor of interpersonal communication within the University System of Maryland, where he teaches courses focused on human connection, conflict, trust, and ethical communication.