Fred J. Maahs Jr, President at FJM Solutions and former Comcast executive is confirmed to keynote the 2019 New Jersey Conference on Disability & Employment, scheduled for October 23, 2019 at Middlesex County College in Edison, NJ.
Mr. Maahs joined Comcast in December of 2007 and most recently was the Senior Director, Community Impact, Comcast Corporation, and Vice President, Comcast
Foundation. He was responsible for the strategic leadership of Comcast’s national strategic partnerships with organizations including City Year, Easterseals, The Arc, numerous relationships with Native American organizations, and a variety of diverse partnerships at the corporate and regional level.
In addition, he served on Comcast’s Joint Diversity Council and was an Executive Champion of the MyAbilities Network – one of Comcast’s Employee Resource Groups. Early in his career at Comcast, in addition to national community partnerships, Fred was also responsible for the company’s national signature community investment programs - Comcast Cares Day, the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program, and the annual United Way campaign. Fred has worked for some of the country’s largest Fortune 100 and 500 companies.
From 2004 to 2007, Fred worked for ARAMARK where he assumed the newly created role of Director of Community Relations with a focus on developing and implementing the company's Star Teams initiative - a strategic, company-wide employee engagement program. This initiative encompassed more than 12,000 managers across North America and the UK and focused on strategic Star Team activities with an overarching goal to build business and enhance company image. His strategic leadership and successful teambuilding abilities led to millions of dollars in new business, stronger relationships with clients and local national and international communities, new career opportunities for employees, as well as increased employee participation in community service activities.
Prior to joining ARAMARK, Fred was the Director of Communications for Easter Seals Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore from 1998 to 2003, where he was responsible for all media, public and government relations, as well as internal and external communications for 13 locations throughout Delaware and Maryland. He also served on the National Easter Seals Communications Committee. During his career in financial services for some of the nation’s largest and oldest financial institutions, Fred served as Vice President of Marketing for CoreStates Bank of Delaware. While there, he was responsible for internal and external communications to customers and employees, event marketing and promotional programs for new national account acquisition, and marketing programs for 610 regional bank branches.
Prior to that, he worked for Bank of New York (Delaware). Fred is a Past Chair of the American Association of People with Disabilities, is a Director and Past Vice Chair on the National Easterseals Board of Directors and leads the Marketing and Development Committees, serves on the Board Development Committee for The Arc of the United States and was chosen to lead the Corporate Sponsor Council for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. He serves on the Disability: IN (formerly known as the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®)) Disability Equality Index Advisory Committee and its Honorary Advisory Board for the America’s Disability Rights Museum on Wheels.
He also served as one of the founding members of the National Advisory Council for the Arts for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He served on the Community Involvement Roundtable at the Center for Corporate Citizenship, Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. He served on United Way Worldwide’s Global Corporate Leadership Advisory Council, is a former member of United Way of Southern New Jersey and Greater Philadelphia’s Employee Campaign Cabinet, and served as the first Co-Chair of the Greater Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council.
In addition, he served as a WICT mentor and as a Big Brother in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Beyond School Walls program in Philadelphia. He has been involved in many community-based volunteer efforts for Easterseals, served as Vice Chairperson for the Mayor of Wilmington’s Access Wilmington Committee, and served on the Winterthur Museum and Gardens Access Advisory Board.
Fred has served on three panels at the White House regarding issues that impact the lives of people with disabilities. Invited by the King Foundation, Fred delivered a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 2013, along with Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Carter, as well as a number of renowned celebrities and civil rights leaders. Fred represented the nation's disability population during the "Let Freedom Ring" Celebration commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This was the first time that the disability population was included in the anniversary events.
Fred has shared his personal and professional journey with countless audiences across North America at events that include the National Mentoring Summit in Washington, D.C., the Annual National Convention for The Arc, the Ruderman Foundation Summit for Inclusion, the Digital Arts Festival for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Center for Corporate Citizenship Leadership Series and Annual Conferences, and in numerous publications. He has delivered keynote speeches and participated in Town Hall and panel discussions on numerous topics.
In 2019, Fred received the “Belief in the Power of Young People Award” from City Year, presented to him for “extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment to ensuring all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential and building the next generation of leaders.” Fred was selected as the “2015 Humanitarian of the Year” by the The Buoniconti Fund - the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, for all of his work and advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities across the country. He was chosen by the Governor of Delaware as Employee of the Year in 2002 and was the first recipient of the John Jefferson Memorial Courage Award in 2002.
He has also received numerous marketing and communications awards throughout the Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey area. He received his B.S. in Business Management from West Chester University, an A.S. in Business from Widener University, is certified in Corporate Social Responsibility Leadership from the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, and resides in Wilmington, Delaware.