Edward Grefe, former New York and Washington, D.C., executive who became an authority on grassroots political campaigns, died Feb. 17, 2016. His obit was published in the April 17 Washington Post.

Edward GrefeEdward Grefe

He was the first “Grassroots Engagement” professor at the Graduate School of Political Management, George Washington University, which he joined in 1992.

Previously, he was a VP at Philip Morris and later a co-owner of the first computer-based, corporate-grassroots management software.

Early in his career Grefe was a reporter for The Baltimore News American, for which he wrote a front-page series on literacy problems in the minority community, and for The Washington Post. He led political campaigns for GOP candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and state and local offices.

He handled more than 250 legislative campaigns for state and national groups seeking to change community attitudes at the city, state, and Federal levels. He authored Fighting to Win: Business Political Power in 1981 and The New Corporate Activism in 1995.

“An Inventor of Corporate Grassroots”

The Public Affairs Council called him “one of the inventors of corporate grassroots.” The Harvard Business Review said “Grefe’s wider notion is that … by keeping out of politics … business does not make the process purer, it only suffers an imbalance.” He was a graduate of The Catholic University of America. 

Survivors include his wife Liz Meitner; children Keith and Nicole who reside in New Jersey; niece Casey Gignac, and family members in Columbia, Md.

Longtime friend Don Bates, New York counselor who was a colleague of Grefe at GWU, said, “Ed was all for big ideas and trying new things. He wanted to make things happen that were good for the country. Ed’s red convertible and colorful wardrobe exemplified his style. His last several birthday celebrations included skydiving, trapeze lessons and zip lining" (riding on a cable suspended high over land).

Services are April 29 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the GWU Elliot School of International Affairs. Donations may be made to the Ed Grefe Scholarship at the GWU School of Political Management.