by Mary Tamer

As a seasoned finance professional, Josh Gotbaum MPP
1976 never envisioned a role in philanthropy, and certainly not one as the head of a fund borne out of unexpected tragedy and terrorism. But, as all Americans learned on September 11, life can change in an instant, and the outcome of such events is rarely a predictable one.

Gotbaum knows this lesson well as the chief executive of the September 11 Fund, a post he assumed on October 15, 2001, less than 40 days after commercial jets seized by terrorists crashed into preordained targets, killing thousands and leaving thousands more victims behind to grieve their losses.

“I knew people who died in the tragedy,” said Gotbaum, “but I think, like most of us, I was affected more by the scale of it and by the thousands of people whose lives were forever changed by it. In my view, this [job] is very clearly of service. And the reason I’m doing it is to help a
lot of people in something that is very important.”

With more than $1.7 billion received as of January 2002, Gotbaum’s agenda is clear: to help both the short- and
long-term needs of all those affected. Still, despite the fact that all funds raised are earmarked for victims, and despite the fact that thousands of checks were written within the first 30 days, controversy swirled around the expeditious use of all the victims’ funds, and Gotbaum initially found himself in front of television cameras defending his organization’s work.

“There’s been a great deal of activity,” said Gotbaum in early November, “with more than 12,000 checks already written to deal with the immediate needs. We also have to deal with the larger and long-term needs, such as how do (victims’ families) obtain economic security and peace of mind? How do you next help them to rebuild their lives? We are working with government agencies and private charities to fund programs to help the
victims over time.”

A numbers guy in both the private and government sectors, Gotbaum may not have foreseen a future role as the head of a nonprofit, though his path to public
service was almost predestined. A native of Evanston, Illinois, Gotbaum initially studied biochemistry at Stanford, though Vietnam and the influence of his parents’ roles as a social worker and a labor leader changed his mind. “It seemed to me at the time that government wasn’t delivering on its promises, so I decided to work for government.” Gotbaum continued his
education at both the Kennedy School and Harvard Law School, earning dual degrees in 1976.

After a stint in the Carter administration, where he worked on energy and economic policy, Gotbaum said he realized most of the people he worked with were lawyers or economists, provoking him to pursue business to round out his skills. This path led to the international financial firm of Lazard Freres & Company, where he spent more than a dozen years working in the United States and in Europe, including three years of living in London.

When Washington came calling again, Gotbaum worked for the next two years at the Department of Defense under former Secretary William Perry and former Deputy Secretary John Deutch, a period he called “fascinating.”

“It was quite amazing,” said Gotbaum. “They (Perry and Deutch) said, ‘Defense is changing, we’d like a restructuring expert,’and they were absolutely sincere about it…. I came away with an enormous respect for the department and the military.”

Another couple of years were spent at the Department of the Treasury, working with former Secretary Robert Rubin and former Deputy Secretary, and now Harvard president, Lawrence Summers. But it wasn’t until his fourth year as executive associate director for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), when the world changed one fateful fall day, and Gotbaum ultimately received a call from a headhunter hired by the United Way and the New York Community Trust to find someone to oversee the growing September 11 Fund.

“It became clear that some of my experience was relevant,” said Gotbaum. “I told them that it wasn’t my long-term plan to run this foundation, but my commitment to the organization is that I would set it up, develop a plan, get it approved and…I would return to private life.”

Operating with a start-up mentality, Gotbaum is working days and most nights to see that the money raised — which far exceeds what the fund expected to raise —
is helping those who need it, and living, as he described it, in a temporary New York City apartment that “has beds and not much else.” He returns to his wife and three young children in Washington, DC, most weekends and plans to continue this frenetic way of life for “less than one year.” And, despite an already impossible schedule, Gotbaum has also maintained his close ties to the Kennedy School, which, since graduation, have included the establishment of an alumni awards committee, serving on the visiting committee, and even making it back last fall for the annual Public Service Refresher weekend.

“The reason I support the school is because it plays a role in preparing people for helping other people,” said Gotbaum.

While it is just a matter of time until he returns to his personal and professional life in DC, Gotbaum’s life today is focused on helping other people in the wake of September 11, working through frontline relief agencies that write victims a check on the spot if needed. There are rents and mortgages to be paid and tuition bills that have come due. Lawyers are needed to obtain death certificates, a process that can take years when a body has not yet been found. And mental health counselors are being provided to help the victims cope with all that lies before them.

“I like to think I’ve learned something from every job I’ve ever done and every person I’ve ever worked with,” said Gotbaum. “My OMB experience will be very helpful here, since that is a place where limited resources need to be put in service of unlimited needs in a way that’s professional and compassionate.

“We’re here to help, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Mary Tamer is a freelance writer and editor living in Boston, Massachusetts.