In March 2023, David J. Byrd was awarded the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer services. David J. Byrd is the CEO/Founder of Byrd’s Eye, LLC, a consulting firm that offers government relations and political consulting, as well as life skills and executive coaching services. He is a Certified Professional Coach. 

Until January of this year, he served as Senior Principal at Korn Ferry Professional Search where he leveraged his 19 years of leadership and economic development experience to help clients achieve their strategic goals and optimize their performance.

In March 2023, David J. Byrd was awarded the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer services. As a Certified Professional Life Skills Coach, Mr. Byrd worked with young men in juvenile detention and homeless families and individuals in Washington, DC’s largest shelter.  He also served as Senior Principal at Korn Ferry Professional Search where he leveraged his 19 years of leadership and economic development experience to help clients achieve their strategic goals and optimize their performance.

Prior to that, he served as the 18th National Director of the Minority Business Development Agency, which is located within the U.S. Department of Commerce. His previous federal service included stints as at: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); the U.S. Department of Education; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); and the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.

Mr. Byrd has had an exemplary career as a public servant. He has been a federal, state, and local government executive and has served on transition teams at the federal, state, and county levels. Prior to his federal service at HUD, Mr. Byrd led Byrd’s Eye, LLC, a consulting firm that offered government relations, political consulting, executive and life skills coaching services to a wide variety of economic development clients.

Mr. Byrd served as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Prince George’s County, MD, from April 2006 to January 2011, and led the oversight and implementation of several major economic development projects totaling over $2.6 billion in value, including the $1 billion National Harbor project, the $700 million Woodmore Town Center featuring Wegman’s grocery store, and the $700 million Brandywine Crossing retail project. Mr. Byrd’s responsibilities included governmental operations and public infrastructure, environmental services, economic development, and internal support services.

Prior to his county government service, he served as Chief of Staff to the Maryland Lt. Governor. As Chief of Staff, Mr. Byrd directed the daily operations of the Lt. Governor’s office and championed the Lt. Governor’s political, policy, and personnel agenda.

In 2002, Mr. Byrd was Associate Commissioner for External Affairs at the U.S. Social Security Administration. With a small staff, he developed strategic relationships with national advocacy organizations and created the framework for the roll out of the President’s Initiative on Social Security Reform.

Mr. Byrd spent seven years in New Jersey State Government, from 1994-2001, focusing primarily on economic development issues. As Director of the Office of Small Business, Mr. Byrd and his staff worked with state procurement officers to surpass the $1 billion mark in small business contracting, a first in New Jersey history. Additionally, he led trade missions to South Africa, Namibia, and Ethiopia securing over $400 million in contract awards for New Jersey businesses.

Public service is a Byrd family tradition. A great-uncle was a butler at the White House during the Wilson and Harding Administrations. Another uncle was the third African American police chief in U.S. history and the first west of the Rocky Mountains. An aunt was the first African- American elected to the Wyoming Legislature, and a distant cousin was the first woman elected Mayor of Washington, DC. His nephew serves as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington. His father once served as an aide to the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. And his wife is a retired US Air Force Major and a lifelong Girl Scout.

David John Byrd was born in East Orange, NJ, and grew up in Jackson
Township, NJ. He completed his bachelor’s degree in English at Ohio Wesleyan University and completed his master’s degree in corporate public relations at Rowan University (formerly known as Glassboro State College).

He is a former member of Toastmasters International and the Public Relations Society of America. He and his wife, Jacquie, live in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.