Michael W. Rawlings, J.D., BCC

Michael has been with Office of Personnel Management (OPM) since 2006, when he joined the Senior Faculty at the Federal Executive Institute, supporting all aspects of OPM’s flagship Leadership for a Democratic Society, and directing OPM’s Center for Global Leadership, including launching FEI in China with Johns Hopkins University and Tsinghua University, Beijing. From 2012 through 2015, he assisted in establishing  OPM’s Center for Innovative Learning and Professional Growth, then served as Senior Advisor for Innovation Programs through the LAB@OPM. In 2016, he became program director for executive programs with OPM’s Center for Leadership Development–Eastern Management Development Center, and he returned to the FEI faculty in 2018. 

His OPM work has included strategic planning, teaching, mediating, executive coaching and career counseling, complex facilitation, Human Centered Design, and supporting prime performance for individuals, teams, and organizations. From 2003 to 2006, he served as the first conflict management program officer for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in its Model Workplace Program, charged with developing TSA’s Integrated Conflict Management System.

Michael writes and teaches in the fields of conflict management, diversity, and American cultural history blended with values-based executive leadership. He is a contributing author of The Trusted Leader (2nd Ed, 2011, CQ Press), as well as to two Center for Creative Leadership publications: Building Conflict Competent Teams, and Developing Your Conflict Competence—A Hands-On Guide for Leaders, Managers, Facilitators, and Teams. He is an Accredited Genealogist^® through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists, and served in DOI’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, OFA, as a staff genealogist.

From 1986 to 1996, Michael lived in Brussels, Belgium, where as Captain, U.S. Army, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, he served as community legal advisor at NATO HQ, and claims negotiator with the Belgian and French governments under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement. In Brussels, he also worked for the Secretary General of the European Union in Central and Eastern European political affairs, human rights, and rule of law issues; served on faculty at the European Business School; was an elected officer on the U.S./E.U. Chamber of Commerce; and directed Corporate Affairs and Eastern European Business Development for two multinationals. From 1996 to 2003, he was founder and president of Rawlings Consulting, providing Organization Development consulting, facilitation, training, mediation, and executive coaching to cross-sector clients including the World Bank, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Association of Realtors, and the Federal Executive institute.

Michael is an alumnus of The College of William and Mary and the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law, and is a member of the Virginia State Bar. He holds certifications at all levels of mediation practice and mentor status with the Supreme Court of Virginia, Office of Dispute Resolution. He is a board certified coach and member of the International Coach Federation. Until 2006, he was adjunct faculty at the University of Richmond, teaching family and workplace mediation and genealogy courses. Michael serves on the board of directors of Swem Library at The College of William and Mary (emeritus) and Essex County Public Library, and is an active member and past officer in Rotary International. He enjoys boating, SCUBA diving, and nature photography.