December 2001
As the son of a successful real estate developer, Josh Freeman had some big shoes to fill. He found a way to do it on his own terms. A few days after graduating from high school in Bethesda, MD, Josh joined the Army. Academics didn’t inspire him, but as it turned out, the Green Berets presented just the challenge he needed. He acquired many new skills and gained a new appreciation for leadership and chain of command. He tested his own mettle during a seven-day winter survival tour alone in some woods in North Carolina with a live chicken that eventually became supper.
Three years later, Josh was ready to come home to work for the family business, Carl M. Freeman and Associates (CMFA). There, Josh learned the ropes of developing golf courses, managing shopping centers, and building vacation homes on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He became president in 1995, but dad’s guiding hand was ever-present. All of that changed dramatically in 1998 when Carl Freeman died in a car accident. Suddenly Josh was chairman, CEO, and very much in charge – at age 34. There was no safety net. All eyes were on him.
Josh decided to update the infrastructure of the successful development business by creating an internal support system for employees. The company’s home office in Montgomery County now offers a free gym; home-cooked lunch, flex-time for working parents, and reimbursement for any educational pursuit. “We broke out of the 1950s punch-clock system,” Josh says, “ to create a more collaborative management style.”
In the midst of personal and professional transitions, Josh added one more – he got married and became an instant dad to Nick, a ten-year-old boy. He, wife Michelle, and Nick are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new baby in February. Josh is also expanding the reach of the family foundation with the creation of a business consulting practice, Freeman Business Solutions, which is run by Nancy Eberhardt, a senior vice president of the company. The new business offers management guidance to for-profit companies going through acquisitions, mergers, or other significant changes. These same skills are also provided to nonprofit organizations to help build capacity and infrastructure. The new practice is designed to generate revenue for the foundation.
The foundation continues to support Carl Freeman’s love of the arts and education, but is expanding to include non-family board members and a more focused approach to giving. Currently, the foundation is working with the Olney Boys and Girls Club. After the foundation gave the club $1 million to acquire land for a new building, Josh “realized I hadn’t done the organizational due diligence. They needed more help to reach the goal line,” so he sent in Eberhardt, a former bank president, to help the volunteer staff develop a growth plan. “It’s a very VPP-like approach,” he says.
When he met Mario Morino a few years ago, Josh says, “I was drawn to the intellectual creativity that VPP was tapping into to build a new mode of philanthropy.” He believes that his association with VPP as an investor and board member will help guide his work with his own foundation. To VPP he brings an inquisitive mind, a history of family philanthropy, and a bricks- and-mortar heritage. “I’m not in high tech or from Northern Virginia, so I can be a bit of a bridge between the new economy and old industry.”
