Northern Illinois University
Department of Public Administration
School of Public and Global Affairs

Peter Burchard

Peter Burchard is adjunct faculty focusing on ethics and innovation. He received his B.S. in political Science and his MPA from NIU. Peter spent an undergraduate semester studying international relations at Salzburg College in Austria. His continuing education has focused on business, history and writing skills at the University of Chicago and executive coaching through the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.

Peter’s local government & public service career started as an intern and then assistant in Woodridge Illinois. For ten years, he was the village manager in Hoffman Estates followed by ten years as the city manager in Naperville. After thirty years in local government, Peter became the chief operating officer of Augusta Georgia based inVentiv Medical Management that served over 1 million insureds.

In addition to his work for NIU, Peter is a multi-sector consultant. His focus is on governance, executive effectiveness, organizational improvement, high-stakes strategy and healthcare. In addition, Peter frequently lectures on innovation, ethics, communication and self-improvement.

Peter has served as a board member and chair of Hoffman Estates Medical Center (now St Alexius), board member of the Alliance for Innovation and board member of the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy. He served as an independent advisor for the City of Chicago regarding O’Hare International Airport improvements. Today, Peter serves on the board and executive committee of the NIU Alumni Association. Peter reviews textbook proposals regarding ethics in public administration for a major publisher.

He has been recognized as a Public Service Education Fellow, member of the National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration and as the Outstanding Alumnus/Model Administrator by NIU and the American Society of Public Administration.

Since working for an auction company during his high school days, Peter has been an auctioneer specializing in government surplus and automobiles. He is an accomplished charity auctioneer having worked on-stage with Ellen DeGeneres and Howie Mandel on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.