Ted Kniker

Ted Kniker is an internationally recognized expert and thought leader in performance improvement, with extensive executive leadership roles in the public and commercial sectors.   His work as Chief of Evaluation and Performance at the U.S. State Department was recognized by President George W. Bush, benchmarked by OMB and called a best practice by the OIG.  He has received numerous Superior and Meritorious honor awards during his federal career, and has been nominated to serve in key advisory roles for OMB and the American Evaluation Association.  

At Enlighteneering, Ted oversees the Management and Strategy Consulting business line as well as all internal operations.   Using systems-based methodology, he consults, coaches and facilitates C-level, Senior and Mid-level leaders in leadership, organization development, and performance improvement transformation efforts.  He develops performance frameworks and leads program evaluations, including surveys, focus groups, key informant interviews, and cost-benefit analysis.  Ted conducts data validation, verification, analysis and reporting for research and evaluations.

Before joining Enlighteneering, Ted served as a Principal for Mission Measurement, the world leader in measuring social outcomes where he oversaw the Washington, DC office, and projects including piloting a results-based budget and outcomes framework for a state government, defining impact and measures for Fortune 100 companies, and assisting non-profits in how to build evaluation and measurement capacity at any budget level.   He provided strategic guidance and methodology for the organization’s Impact Genome Project.™ 

Prior to this, Ted was the Executive Director of the Performance Institute, the nation’s leading think tank on government performance, accountability and transparency. Ted planned and executed a $5M annual budget, grew the consultancy practice by over 200 percent, and managed over 130 education courses and conferences that train more than 3,000 people each year.  Ted was credited for reinvigorating the Institute’s program and reputation.

He was the Director of Consulting and Executive Consultant for the award-winning Federal Consulting Group (FCG), a franchise of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of the Interior, specializing in strategic planning, organization planning and design, business process reengineering, process improvement, and budget and financial management. In his role as Director of Consulting, he tripled the consulting and coaching revenue within three years and achieved the organization’s highest level of customer satisfaction as measured by the ACSI.  He worked with over 30 agencies and generated an 80 percent customer renewal rate.  

Ted is a polished public speaker and is currently an Adjunct Professor for the George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership.  He has several professional publications and was on the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2004 and 2007.  Ted holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the George Washington University, is certified in Program Management and Analysis, and was a Presidential Management Intern (now Fellow).