Jon Desenberg

Jon Desenberg is the State and Local Director for the MITRE, a not-for-profit corporation that operates six Federally Funded Research and Development Centers. Jon works with elected officials in bringing research, testing, engineering, and related work to more than 10 states and cities, towns and counties nationwide. In 2024, MITRE and the Virginia Municipal League became official research partners, linking MITREs work in transportation, security, health and emergency management with all 280 cities and towns in Virginia. Additional research agreements are underway to extend the value of a Federally Funded Research and Development Center to local governments. As a Federal employee, Jon was the US General Services Administration (GSA) Performance Management Director, leading the development of performance measures and strategies for GSA’s strategic plan and in the performance plans for over 12,000 Federal employees.

Jon later served as the Policy Director for The Performance Institute, a think tank in Washington DC. He trained government executives and developed strategies and performance metrics in more than 125 national, state and local governments, including the United Arab Emirates, Italy, The Provincial Governments of British Columbia and more than 20 US Federal Agencies. Jon co-wrote the textbook: “Knowledge Management: The Foundation for Electronic Government.” He is the Chairman of the US Federal Performance Coalition, the leading group of Performance experts and leadership in the US Federal Government.

He graduated from the University of Michigan and received his law degree with honors form The American University.