Richard Callahan

Richard Callahan is a Professor at the University of San Francisco (USF), holding a joint appointment in the School of Management and School of Nursing and Health Professions. He is Co-Director of the USF Master of Public Health Program in Sacramento and Director of the Health Services Administration concentration in the MPA program. His research focuses on leadership behaviors and strategy in complex public and nonprofit environments. Callahan has held leadership roles including Department Chair of Public and Nonprofit Administration, Faculty Representative to USF's Board of Trustees, and Co-Director of the Sierra Health Foundation Leadership Program.

Education: BA in Government (Georgetown University), MPA and PhD in Public Administration (University of Southern California), with additional training in judo at Tenri University, Japan.

Research Interests: Leadership development, intergovernmental collaboration, fiscal sustainability, and public health leadership. His work emphasizes strategies for addressing social determinants of health and innovative governance models. He co-authored a Brownlow Award-winning article on fiscal sustainability and edited books on public health leadership.

Notable Awards: Louis Brownlow Award (2015), Fulbright Specialist Grant (2011), and multiple teaching awards, including USF’s Graduate Program Teacher of the Year (2013). He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Public Leadership and has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University and the California State University, Sacramento.

Grants and Fundraising: Led major initiatives including a $275,000 Haynes Foundation study on fiscal sustainability and directed development for a $1 million Newland Endowed Professorship. His leadership programs span globally, including in Mexico and Turkey.

Labs/Teams: Co-leads the Milbank Memorial Fund’s national Emerging Leaders Program for state legislators and advises institutions like the Los Angeles Police Department and the U.S. Air Force on leadership practices.