Jakob Klaus is an accomplished social worker, union organizer, and change facilitator.

He is a graduate of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. He earned his MSW (with honors) in Social Change, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, graduating with honors. Throughout his undergraduate and graduate experience Jakob worked as a research assistant where he developed his love of policy and program analysis and evaluation. His research experience also led to his contributing to several publications, including Using Complexity Theory for Research and Program Evaluation, in which he co-authored a chapter on agent-based modeling. 

After graduation, Jakob worked for more than a decade as a social worker in private and public agencies. His practice focused on the disability community. During this time, he also earned licensure as an LCSW and certification in Financial Social Work. Jakob is a strong advocate for community inclusion of people with disabilities.

As a social worker for the State of Maryland Jakob became involved in the Maryland Social Services Employees Union as a Shop Steward and then Regional VP. He was effective as a local Union leader and left his position with the State of Maryland to become a Union Field Representative and Organizer for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). In that role he grew Union membership and organized chapters among social services employees, correctional officers, state highway employees, and university employees throughout Central and Western Maryland. At AFSCME he gained a reputation as a highly effective negotiator, litigator, adviser, and recruiter.

Jakob started working with Tenacious Change in 2021 as a contractor. During that time, he worked alongside his father, Tom, on evaluation research and in all client consultations. In 2023 Jakob became a full partner in Tenacious Change, LLC and assumed a critical leadership role as Principal Partner in the business. In this role his focus is on administration, consultation in his specialty areas, and training and consulting on the Tenacious Change Approach.

Jakob is stepping into partnership and leadership at Tenacious Change with over 15 years’ experience in personal, family, organizational, and community change work. He is capping off his preparation for this leadership role by completing an MBA with a concentration in business analytics at Eastern University in Philadelphia. In January 2023, Jakob became a Certified Professional with the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM-CP).

Jakob Klaus makes his home in Columbia, Maryland, with his spouse, Jessica, and their two rescue hounds, Roscoe and Ranger, and one beagle, Sylvie.