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Photograph of Ruth Zaplin

Ruth Zaplin Senior Executive in Residence Public Administration and Policy

Degrees
DPA, MPA, MA, BA

Bio
Dr. Ruth Zaplin is a Senior Executive-in-Residence at Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s School of Public Affairs (SPA), where she designs and teaches graduate courses in leadership, public policy implementation, organizational analysis, coaching for performance, and ethics. Additionally, she is the Director of Coaching for Key Executive Leadership Programs in SPA.

Dr. Zaplin holds a Master’s degree and a Doctorate in Public Administration. She is certified as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a Growth Edge Coach by Cultivating Leadership. She has also been trained at Harvard University to administer and score the Subject-Object Interview, a methodology grounded in Robert Kegan’s theory of adult development.

Her consulting experience includes leading enterprise-wide transformations, workforce restructuring, and work redesign initiatives across both the private and public sectors. She also served as a project director at the National Academy of Public Administration in Washington, DC, where she spearheaded the creation of the Academy’s Global Leadership Consortium.

Dr. Zaplin integrates mindfulness and other centering practices into her courses and workshops to enhance personal resilience, presence, and leadership capacity.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call Â鶹ÊÓƵ Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Summer 2024

  • PUAD-028 Executive Skill Modules: Leader as a Coach MRP 17

  • PUAD-048 Group Theory and Facilitation: Group Theory & Fac OIG SES 2

  • PUAD-084 Leading Organizational Analys: Leading Org Analys DHS97

  • PUAD-084 Leading Organizational Analys: Leading Org Analys USSS10

  • PUAD-650 Leadership in Chngng Workplace

  • PUAD-650 Leadership in Chngng Workplace

  • PUAD-684 Organizational Analysis

Fall 2024

  • PUAD-028 Executive Skill Modules: Leader as a Coach NASA 1

  • PUAD-028 Executive Skill Modules: Leader as a Coach GSA 2

  • PUAD-057 Managing Organizational Trans: Managing Org Trans DOT 102

  • PUAD-084 Leading Organizational Analys: Leading Org Analys OE 100

  • PUAD-620 Public Marketing & Strat Comm: Pub Mktg & Strat Comm Key 56

  • PUAD-650 Leadership in Chngng Workplace

Spring 2025

  • PUAD-028 Executive Skill Modules: Leader as a Coach MRP 18

  • PUAD-639 Ethics for Public Managers: Ethics for Pub Managers Key56

  • PUAD-650 Leadership in Chngng Workplace

  • PUAD-650 Leadership in Chngng Workplace