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Foundation Profile: Bob Jeffrey

(Marla Shaivitz) -- Horizon Foundation Trustee Bob Jeffrey is by all appearances a ‘finance guy.” As Chair of the Foundation’s Finance Committee, Jeffrey brings insightful financial knowledge to the Foundation. He also brings a unique perspective on policy implementation due to a diverse background in education, research and health.

A Young, Professional . . . Researcher

As a teenager growing up in Baltimore City, he had not only heard of Columbia, but had studied it in school. “My parents considered moving to Columbia for a time and we visited Wilde Lake and the Exhibit Center in the mid ‘60’s,” he recalls. Thinking it would be a nice community for career-oriented professionals, with good access to both Baltimore and Washington and possessing the “Jim Rouse ideals,” Jeffrey moved to Hickory Ridge in 1977, a few years after finishing graduate school at Johns Hopkins University. 

This young career-oriented professional was not, however, a finance professional. Jeffrey had graduated with a master’s degree in social and behavioral sciences at JHU, spent a year in a Community Clinical Psychology program at UMBC, and recently begun a research and teaching position at the University of Maryland’s Dental School with a new federal program intended to help dentists practice more efficiently. At 22, he was the youngest instructor the school had hired.

“I thought this would be my job forever, that I’d retire at 57 and collect a pension,” recalls Jeffrey.  Three years later, Jeffrey experienced some frustration associated with academia and, a year after that, the Dean strongly encouraged a doctoral degree if he was considering tenure. Jeffrey enrolled in a new Policy Sciences doctoral program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Criteria for a Career

Jeffrey’s department at the University was well-known nationally and he had colleagues – social scientists working in clinical science organizations – across the country. He corresponded with these individuals and often saw them when presenting at or attending conferences. “I found that almost everyone was having the same issues that I was having,” recalls Jeffrey. Lunch with one colleague brought about a career-changing discussion. “We started talking about the criteria for an ideal career, such as being your own boss, working with people, having high earnings potential, and working within a meritocracy where performance was easily measured,” says Jeffrey. All of this, alongside a growing familiarity with the stock market, led him to investigate a career as an investment advisor.

With a background in academia and degrees in the social sciences, Jeffrey wasn’t sure if he would make a good candidate to an investment firm. “Not true,” found Jeffrey. His background in teaching, research and social sciences was appreciated and he was told, “We can and will teach you the details related to investing.” Jeffrey remained in the doctoral program for one more semester, but found the time conflicts were too great to complete a dissertation and build a career at the same time.  He’s very proud of the abstract he presented to the American Public Health Association on his likely dissertation topic, even though he changed careers shortly after in the summer of 1982.  Today, Jeffrey leads a 5 member team at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, advising over $340 million in assets.

Volunteering with a Health Focus

Once settled in Columbia and working, Jeffrey wanted to become more involved in the community. He read about an opportunity in the Columbia Flyer to serve on the Consumer Council of the Columbia Medical Plan and thought it sounded interesting, so he volunteered. After a time, he was elected the president of the Council, and found he was the “voice of cooperation.” Through the sale of the Columbia Medical Plan, ultimately to CareFirst Blue Choice, Jeffrey became a public member of CareFirst’s Board. His service lasted two decades.

Additionally, Jeffrey has been very involved in the Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation, was Chairman of the Family Life Center (he led its merger into Family and Children’s Services) and is a past president of the Jim Rouse Entrepreneurial Fund (JREF). He is currently a Director and Assistant Treasurer of the Howard Community College Educational Foundation.
He and his wife, Dr. Bach Tran-Jeffrey, also support the Howard County Arts Council, Howard County Conservancy, The Columbia Foundation, Grassroots, Howard County General Hospital, the Columbia Festival of the Arts and Leadership Howard County through special events and programs, as well as offering financial support.

Adding a Unique Mix of Skills

When the Horizon Foundation was initiated, Bob Gaw, a friend and fellow community volunteer, came to Jeffrey to brainstorm (Gaw was the first Chair of the Foundation’s Finance Committee) about investment policies. “I was a very informal advisor,” recalls Jeffrey, “not official at that point.” Advising Gaw on “general issues of modern portfolio theory and asset allocation,” he was asked years later by then- Board Chair Pat Kennedy and then-Finance Chair Mary Ann Hellauer to serve on the Board. “I thought it would be an interesting opportunity that would get the creative juices flowing and help Horizon,” recalls Jeffrey.

Foundation President Richard Krieg said, “Bob is a rare Board member who drives our investment policy and financial planning, while fully engaging the other strategic dimensions of Foundation activity.”

Indeed, by virtue of his background, Jeffrey brings familiarity in the policy sciences to the Foundation Board of Trustees.  He fully understands the challenges affecting change.  “I know that the implementation of policy goes beyond the writing. You have to always ask yourself, ‘Will this work in the real world?’”