Jay Kaufman is Beacon Leadership Collaborative’s founding president. He has taught and consulted on public and non-profit sector leadership for the past three decades. He helped launch the Initiative for Diversity in Civic Leadership, has served on the National Conference of State Legislature’s leadership development faculty for courses in this country, Europe and Africa, served as founding director of Northeastern University’s Center for Leadership and Public Life and, before that, served as founding director of the Massachusetts Bay Consortium, an association of 18 colleges and universities. In addition, he experimented with and experienced leadership successes and failures as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he served for twenty-four years, from 1995 to 2019. He chaired both the Committee on Public Service and the Committee on Revenue and was part of the House leadership team. His “OPEN HOUSE” monthly public policy forum was recognized with the prestigious Beacon Award as the nation’s best televised government relations series.