Remembering Joe Gleason, My First Boss

The more I reflect on the recent passing of Joe Gleason, the more I realize how profoundly he shaped my professional life and career. Joe was my very first boss—he ran MSL’s Washington, DC office in the 1990s, a time when the office was small and every day felt like an immersion in the deep end. He would go on to become President of the firm and, later, an award-winning historical fiction novelist with The Carolingian Chronicles trilogy. But to me, he will always be the person who opened the door to the world of public affairs and communications, and who modeled what it meant to lead with both intellect and human-centered values. 

As an intern in that small DC office, I was entrusted with projects and assignments that would have been reserved for far more seasoned staff in a larger setting. Joe didn’t believe in artificial barriers or in keeping young people on the sidelines. He brought me into my first new business pitch—at just 22 years old, I found myself presenting to the Dairy Council. We won the engagement, one of the biggest at the time, and Joe was there to temper my confidence, to help me channel the anxiety and excitement into thoughtful counsel rather than raw nerves. He never let the weight of responsibility become a burden; instead, he taught me how to turn pressure into purpose.

I screwed up a lot, as young and overly confident people often do. Joe never yelled. Joe never lost his temper. Joe would put his arm around me and say “it looks like you are having a bad day, tomorrow will be a better day.”  

One of the most defining moments of my early career came in 1993 during the Denny’s crisis, when Joe led our team in navigating what became the largest settlement with the NAACP at the time. He threw me headfirst into the thick of it, trusting me to contribute and learn on the job. He handed me a gigantic cell phone, a AAA map and told me to drive to a Denny’s in Annapolis Maryland to manage a Jesse Jackson protest. He and I both underestimated the magnitude of the story which made the national news that evening. Through it all, he showed me how to harness my social justice leanings and channel them into practical, actionable work. Joe believed that idealism and pragmatism could—and should—coexist.

Joe’s integrity was unwavering. When we merged with another firm, he respected my values, allowing me to opt out of working on accounts that conflicted with my beliefs, such as the Conference of Catholic Bishops pro-life campaign and the Church of Scientology. That kind of respect for individual conscience was rare then, and remains so today.

In office life, Joe was the model of calm, managing conflict with a gentlemanly demeanor that never wavered, even in the most heated moments. He was by far the smartest person in any room, but he never flouted it. Instead, he listened, he counseled, and he led by example.

Joe’s passing is a loss to many—the communications world, the literary community, and all who were lucky enough to know him. For me, his greatest gift was the example he set: to lead with humility, to act with integrity, and to always look for the human element in every challenge. I am only now beginning to understand how seminal those early years were, and how grateful I am that Joe Gleason was there to guide me through them.

He was a loving, caring and kind leader and I will forever keep him and my memories of him in my heart.

Rest in peace, Joe.