Biography
J. Gerald Suarez is Executive Director of the Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams honors program at, a multidisciplinary reality-based learning experience that combines students from computer, mathematical, physical sciences as well as engineers and business majors at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. He is also an Executive Education Senior Fellow and a Ralph J. Tyser Teaching Fellow for the Decision and Information Technology Department. He teaches at the Corporate, Executive MBA, Full-Time MBA, International and Undergraduate level and serves as Academic Director for Executive on-site Programs for Lockheed Martin Corporation and Scientific Applications International Corporation.
Suarez joined the University of Maryland after serving with distinction for over eleven years at the White House under two administrations. He served as its Director of Presidential Quality, the first such post in the institution’s history. In this capacity, he initiated efforts to inculcate systems thinking, quality management and organizational redesign into the White House Communications Agency, the White House Military Office, and the Executive Office of the President of the United States. He also served as Director of Customer Support and Organizational Development for the White House Military Office, where he spearheaded an organizational transformation that involved over 2,200 personnel.
Suarez traveled aboard Air Force One and Presidential helicopters in numerous missions worldwide. He received many Presidential awards and commendations for his work in support of the Executive Office of the President, including the Exceptional Civilian Service Medal, the White House Distinguished Service Award, the Commander-in-Chief Coin, and the White House Certificate for Meritorious Service.
Prior to his White House assignments, he worked for the Office of the Under Secretary of the Navy’s Total Quality Leadership Office and for the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center in San Diego, California, where he served as a researcher, instructor, and consultant for both the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense (DoD). He was consultant to the Atlantic Fleet during the initial efforts to implement quality management to the fleet.
Suarez has produced several publications and instructional videotapes on teamwork, organizational redesign, and how to manage fear in the workplace. He collaborated with the late W. Edwards Deming and served as facilitator during his famous 4-day quality seminars. His publications and training strategies for educating the Defense workforce in quality management received DoD-wide distribution. His work has been showcased in international publications such as the Harvard Deusto Business Review and Revista Zona Comercial, as well as in national publications such as the Journal for Quality and Participation and Executive Excellence. His work on “Fear in the Workplace” was featured on public television.
Suarez has been active in the academic world in the United States and abroad. At the National Graduate School of Quality Systems Management, he led the development of the institution's academic vision and served as Chief Academic Officer where he had oversight of over 75 faculty members. In 2003, he was elected "Faculty Member of the Decade," a tribute accorded to him by his colleagues, students and alumni. For ten years, he was a Visiting Professor at the Asturias Business School in Spain, and taught at Marymount University as an Adjunct Professor. He was also a frequent guest speaker at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He has represented the University of Maryland as a consultant and teacher in Shanghai and Tianjian, China.
The application of his consulting and teachings has led to numerous process improvement initiatives at Government Agencies and corporations such as EXXON MOBIL, GE, Anheuser Bush, Johnson & Johnson and to a patent pending status on an innovative product in 2007. He lead a team of students to top 10 finalists in a National Ecomagination challenge sponsored by GE and MTVu and is currently working on a book about the application of quality systems thinking to the development of innovative green technologies. In 2006 he was picked to design and deliver an accelerated MBA train-the-trainer program to a selected team of faculty members of the International University of Gaza in Cairo, Egypt. This pioneering effort was sponsored by the Education for Employment Foundation in New York.
Suarez holds a Master's Degree and a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico. The National Defense University Information Resources Management College has also certified him as a Chief Information Officer. He is a frequent keynote speaker at national and international conferences, and has lectured throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, South America and Asia.