He also pioneered a pilot program for the installation and use of Police Observation Devices,[3] also known as "blue-light cameras,"which gave the department a powerful new technological surveillance tool in its crime-fighting arsenal.

[11] Huberman quickly instituted a hiring freeze while implementing new screening policies to prevent applicants from using political clout to get city jobs.

[13] As Chief of Staff, he also oversaw settlement of the Shakman Decree, a decades-old federal court order, which governed political hiring for city jobs.

His appointment to head the second largest public transit system in the U.S. was greeted as a "breath of fresh air"[15] as Huberman pledged to press for better system-wide performance, employee accountability and an emphasis on customer service.

[16] Huberman addressed customer communication, oversaw investment in new rail-car and bus technology, and brought his Performance Management process to the agency.

[20] After President Barack Obama appointed then-CPS Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan to be U.S. Secretary of Education, Mayor Daley selected Huberman to head CPS on January 28, 2009.

"[22] In his first few months leading the nation's third-largest school district, Huberman announced a shake-up of top management and warned that the system would have to drastically trim Central Office staff to cope with a financial deficit as high as $600 million.

"[24] Huberman also met regularly with educational experts early in his tenure and developed a set of strategic priorities – among them teacher retention and recruitment, safety and security, strengthening middle management, and pushing available resources to the local school level.

He spelled out these priorities in a speech to the City Club of Chicago, avenue at which civic leaders gather once a month to hear from top figures in government, politics or business.

An advocate of year-round education, Huberman greatly expanded the number of schools that followed the district's "Track E" calendar which, among its benefits, helped curtail the traditional summer "learning loss" experienced by many students.

The mentoring component and process for identifying the at-risk students were highlighted in Paul Tough's 2012 book, "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character."

Following the recorded beating and tragic death of CPS high school student Derrion Albert later that month, the multi-dimensional approach was given top priority and drew widespread attention[29] and praise as a "powerful idea on youth violence.

When reports surfaced that some CPS schools may have falsified or otherwise changed student test scores or their attendance rates, Huberman created safeguards within the district's overall record-keeping system to ensure the integrity of school-based data.

Huberman also founded and chairs Teacher Match, a first-of-its-kind company that delivers on-line predictive hiring tools for the elementary and secondary schools and which utilizes a broad range of data sources to build its product.

He is a trustee of the Chicago Rush Medical Center; a senior adviser of Alvarez & Marsal, LLC; and a Director of Navman Wireless UK Limited, Specialized Education Services Inc., and Haights Cross Communications.