David Eisner has been an AOL executive, a communications consultant, and a political aide.  So what's he doing running a federal government agency?  It turns out that his past experiences in consulting, management, politics, and entrepreneurship -- and his passion for improving lives and communities -- prepared him perfectly to lead the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is not your traditional agency.

Established in 1993, the Corporation is the nation's largest service and volunteering grantmaker, with more than 600 employees and offices in all 50 states.  Through its programs -- the Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America -- and other initiatives, the Corporation provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in their communities and meet critical community needs.  This year, 1.8 million volunteers will serve through these programs.

In his tenure, he has overseen an unprecedented growth in programs, helped create valuable tools and research, and led the development of a bold strategic plan that calls for 10 million new volunteers by 2010.


Q&A with Jean Case

JEAN CASE:  Can you talk a bit about your own personal career path, your position now, and some of the highlights in your career path that have brought you to where you are today?

DAVID EISNER:  Well, I think what really started me on my career path was being in college, having no clue to what I was going to do, and being pre-med because my father was a doctor, and failing organic chemistry three times in a row before I got it in my head that it really wasn't what I was interested in.  What I was actually interested in was political science...The most important thing that I remember telling my parents was that doing policy could affect many, many people at once.  Whereas, being a doctor, I would have only been able to impact one person at a time.  Read more.