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Christopher J. Bonanti

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Christopher J. Bonanti is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland and
participates in executive training programs at the School of Public Policy. Bonanti’s
research and teaching focuses on management, leadership, business operations,
business decision sciences, regulatory risk, and statistical variation. As an expert
practitioner pertaining to business decision making, government regulations, science,
engineering, public policy, and general management operations, Bonanti bridges these
topics into his graduate courses to ensure students understand and can apply theory,
methodology and application of topics in the real world.

As a former member of the U.S. Senior Executive Service (SES), Bonanti served as the
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking at the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), as well as other executive positions within the US DOT.
These positions include Director of the Office of Hazardous Materials at the Federal
Aviation Administration, Deputy Executive Director of the National Surface
Transportation Policy & Revenue Study Commission, and Special Assistant to the
Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. In addition, Bonanti served as a
staffer on the US Senate and House of Representatives. Currently, Bonanti is the CEO
and Principal of the Baluster Group, Inc. a management and regulatory compliance
consulting company.

Bonanti received a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of
Management at Northwestern University, and a Master of Engineering from
Pennsylvania State University, and a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University.
Bonanti is also a Marine Corps veteran.

Areas of Interest
  • Executive management; leadership; decision sciences; regulatory risk analysis; operations; corporate strategy; public policy analysis
3 Credit(s)

Equips students with knowledge of management and leadership concepts essential to performing successfully and responsibly in public organizations. We will begin with discussion on the nature of public administration and move an examination of organizational structure issues, public sector innovation strategies and decision-making mechanisms. We will also examine the “people” side of government organizations as well as management and leadership roles within organizations. Many case studies are examined in depth to provide real life context for the course content.
Schedule of Classes