The Harvard Alumni Association nominating committee has announced its candidates for the spring 2025 elections of the Harvard Board of Overseers and elected directors of the Harvard Alumni Association.
The nominating committee brings together 13 alumni with varied backgrounds and includes three current or recent Overseers who have direct experience with the workings and needs of the board. The committee invites and receives suggestions about possible candidates from across the alumni community and reviews information on hundreds of prospective candidates as part of extensive deliberations throughout the fall term.
“The process of considering this year’s candidates for Overseer and HAA elected director has again revealed the extraordinary depth and diversity of talents and accomplishments across our alumni community,” said Robert N. Shapiro ’72, J.D. ’78, chair of the nominating committee, former Overseer, and past president of both the Harvard Alumni Association and the Harvard Law School Association. “These candidates exemplify a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives that will benefit the university. They share a devotion to Harvard as a beacon of academic excellence and a belief in its boundless potential to serve the wider world.”
The committee seeks to develop a set of Overseer candidates that takes account of the board’s present composition and the University’s future needs. The committee considers experience and accomplishment in an academic or professional domain important to the University; interest in and concern for higher education and for Harvard University as a whole; commitment to the overall quality and continual improvement of Harvard’s programs of education and research; willingness to invest the time and energy necessary for effective service; understanding of complex organizations, and leadership and consensus-building skills.
“I’m grateful to my committee colleagues for their thoughtfulness and insights in identifying this outstanding group of candidates,” Shapiro said. “And all of us are grateful to the candidates themselves for their willingness to invest their time and care in the Harvard community and its reach far beyond campus.”
Overseer candidates
Lanhee J. Chen ’99, magna cum laude, A.M. ’04, J.D. ’07, cum laude, Ph.D. ’09
David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, Hoover Institution, and Director of Domestic Policy Studies, Public Policy Program, Stanford University; Partner, Brunswick Group
Mountain View, California
Mark A. Edwards ’82, cum laude
Co-founder and CEO, Upstream USA; founder and former executive director, Opportunity Nation
Brookline, Massachusetts
Mary Louise Kelly ’93, magna cum laude
M.Phil. ’95, University of Cambridge; journalist and broadcaster, co-host of “All Things Considered,” NPR
Washington, D.C.
Nathaniel Owen Keohane, Ph.D. ’01
B.A. ’93, Yale University; president, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
New York, New York
Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D. ’87
B.S. ’83, Georgia Institute of Technology; president and CEO, Morehouse School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia
Michael Rosenblatt, M.D. ’73, magna cum laude
B.A. ’69, summa cum laude, Columbia University; advisory partner, Ascenta Capital; senior adviser, Bain Capital Life Sciences and Flagship Pioneering; former executive vice president and chief medical officer, Merck & Co.; former dean, Tufts University School of Medicine
Newton, Massachusetts
Anjali Sud, M.B.A. ’11
B.S. ’05, University of Pennsylvania; CEO, Tubi; former CEO, Vimeo
New York, New York
Courtney B. Vance ’82
M.F.A. ’86, Yale University; actor, producer, writer; president and chair, SAG-AFTRA Foundation
La Cañada Flintridge, California
HAA elected director candidates
Daniel H. Ahn ’90, magna cum laude, M.B.A. ’97
Managing partner, Clearvision Ventures
Burlingame, California
Allison Lee Pillinger Choi ’06
Author
Bedford, New York
Theresa J. Chung ’98, magna cum laude, J.D. ’02
Administrative judge, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board
Dallas, Texas
Colin J. Kegler ’97
Senior software engineer, HealthEdge Inc.
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Victoria “Vicky” Wai Ka Leung ’91, cum laude
M.B.A. ’98, New York University; managing director and consultant, EC M&A
London, England
Nicholas J. Melvoin ’08
M.A. ’10, Loyola Marymount University; J.D. ’14, New York University; elected board member, Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles, California
Pavlos P. Photiades ’88, magna cum laude
CEO, Photos Photiades Group
Nicosia, Cyprus
Angela M. Ruggiero ’02, cum laude, M.B.A. ’14
M.Ed. ’10, University of Minnesota; co-founder and chair, Sports Innovation Lab
Weston, Massachusetts
Sanjay Seth, M.P.A. ’19, M.U.P. ’19
B.A. ’12, Goldsmiths, University of London; former chief of staff and senior adviser for climate and equity, U.S. EPA New England
East Boston, Massachusetts
Candidates for Overseer may also be nominated by petition, by obtaining a required number of signatures from eligible voters. The deadline to submit petitions for the 2025 Overseers election is Jan. 30. Find more information on the nomination and election process here.
The election begins April 1. Completed ballots will be accepted until 5 p.m. on May 14. Harvard degree holders can vote online or by paper ballot for five anticipated vacancies on the Board of Overseers and for six openings among the HAA elected directors.
All Harvard degree holders as of Jan. 1, except for officers of instruction and government at Harvard and members of the Harvard Corporation, are eligible to vote for Overseer candidates. All Harvard degree holders as of Jan. 1 may vote for HAA elected directors.
The Board of Overseers is one of Harvard’s two governing boards, along with the President and Fellows, also known as the Corporation. Formally established in 1642, the board plays an integral role in the governance of the University, complementing the Corporation’s work as Harvard’s principal fiduciary board. As a central part of its work, the Board of Overseers directs the visitation process, the primary means for periodic external assessment of Harvard’s Schools and departments. Through its array of standing committees, and the roughly 50 visiting committees that report to them, the board probes the quality of Harvard’s programs and assures that the University remains true to its charter as a place of learning. More generally, drawing on its members’ diverse experience and expertise, the board provides counsel to the University’s leadership on priorities, plans, and strategic initiatives. The board also has the power of consent to certain actions, such as the election of Corporation members. The current membership of the board is listed here.
The HAA board, including its elected directors, is an advisory board that aims to foster a sense of community, engagement, and University citizenship among Harvard alumni around the world. The work focuses on developing volunteer leadership and increasing and deepening alumni engagement through an array of programs that support alumni communities worldwide. In recent years, the board’s priorities have included strengthening outreach to recent graduates and graduate school alumni and continuing to build and promote inclusive communities.
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