Board of Overseers - Harvard University

Formally established in 1642

The Board is made up of Harvard University alumni who bring to bear their best judgment and deep commitment to Harvard’s overarching academic mission and long-term institutional interests.

News & Reports

Helena Foulkes and Lindsay Chase-Lansdale to lead Overseers

Helena Buonanno Foulkes, a leader in consumer health care and retail, has been elected president of Harvard University’s Board of Overseers for the 2021-22 academic year. P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, a developmental psychologist and former vice provost for academics at Northwestern University, will be vice chair of the board’s executive committee.

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Learning more about the role of the alumni nominating committee

A former Overseer and the executive director of the Harvard Alumni Association discuss the work of the HAA nominating committees.

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Eight current Overseers share their unique stories

Profiles of eight current members of the Board of Overseers who share their unique stories of experience and service.

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Report to the Harvard Governing Boards on Aspects of the Board of Overseers

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Accompanying Letter to the Report

Letter on the report from R. Martin Chávez, President of the Harvard Board of Overseers, and William F. Lee, Senior Fellow of the Harvard Corporation.

Read the letter

What is Your Harvard Story?

Learning from leaders

In a one-on-one conversation, Board of Overseers leaders Marty Chávez and Helena Buonanno Foulkes explain what an Overseer is and how they lead, and then discuss their hopes for the future.

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Members of the Board

New members of the board are elected each spring by Harvard degree holders (other than officers of government or instruction at the University and members of the Corporation). Aspects of their role are set forth in a statement on Expectations of Service.

Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine (2018-2024)
Boston, MA
President, Sunshine Care Foundation for Neurological Care and Research, and Senior Counsel, Bracebridge Capital

Raphael W. Bostic (2020-2026)
Decatur, GA
President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Mark J. Carney (2021-2027)
Gatineau, Québec, Canada
Special Envoy to UN Secretary General on Climate Action and Finance, Finance Advisor for COP26 to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Vice Chair, Brookfield Asset Management

P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale (2016-2022)
Evanston, IL
Professor Emerita of Human Development and Social Policy, Northwestern University

Alice Hm Chen (2019-2025)
Berkeley, CA
Chief Medical Officer, Covered California, and Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Paul L. Choi (2017-2023)
Chicago, IL
Partner, Sidley Austin LLP

Philip Hart Cullom (2018-2024)
Gaithersburg, MD
Vice Admiral (retired), U.S. Navy

Janet Echelman (2019-2023)
Tampa, FL, and Brookline, MA
Visual Artist; President, Studio Echelman

Helena Buonanno Foulkes (2016-2022)
Narragansett, RI
Former Chief Executive Officer, Hudson’s Bay Company

Carla Harris (2017-2023)
New York, NY
Vice Chair of Wealth Management, Senior Client Advisor and Managing Director, Morgan Stanley

Meredith (Max) Hodges (2018-2024)
Boston, MA
Executive Director, Boston Ballet

Marilyn Holifield (2018-2024)
Miami, FL
Partner, Holland & Knight LLP

Christopher B. Howard (2021-2027)
Pittsburgh, PA
President, Robert Morris University

Darienne Driver Hudson (2017-2023)
Detroit, MI
President and CEO, United Way for Southeastern Michigan

Vivian Hunt (2019-2025)
London, England
Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

Tyler Jacks (2019-2025)
Cambridge, MA
Koch Professor of Biology and Founding Director, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and President, Break Through Cancer

Ketanji Brown Jackson (2016-2022)
Washington, DC
U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

John B. King, Jr. (2019-2025)
Washington, DC
President, The Education Trust

Raymond J. Lohier Jr. (2021-2027)
New York, NY
U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Margaret Purce (2020-2026)
Silver Spring, MD
Soccer player, U.S. Women’s National Team and Sky Blue Football Club

Alejandro Ramírez Magaña (2016-2022)
Mexico City, Mexico
CEO, Cinépolis

Yvette Roubideaux (2018-2024)
Washington, DC
Director, Policy Research Center, National Congress of American Indians

Reshma Saujani (2019-2025)
New York, NY
Founder, Girls Who Code and Marshall Plan for Moms

Thea Sebastian (2020-2026)
Washington, DC
Policy Director, Civil Rights Corps

Megan Red Shirt-Shaw (2021-2027)
Vermillion, SD
Director of Native Student Services, University of South Dakota

Leslie P. Tolbert (2017-2023)
Tucson, AZ
Regents’ Professor Emerita, Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona

Jayson Toweh (2020-2026)
Stanford, CA
Doctoral Student and Graduate Research Assistant, Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford University

Kent Walker (2016-2022)
Mountain View, CA
President Global Affairs, and Chief Legal Officer, Alphabet & Google

Sheryl WuDunn (2021-2027)
Yamhill, Oregon
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, co-founder, FullSky Partners, co-author of Tightrope, senior managing director, Mid-Market Securities

Lawrence S. Bacow
President, Harvard University
Ex officio

Paul J. Finnegan
Treasurer, Harvard University
Ex officio

Helena Foulkes and Lindsay Chase-Lansdale to lead Overseers

Learning more about the role of the alumni nominating committee

Eight current Overseers share their unique stories

Report to the Harvard Governing Boards on Aspects of the Board of Overseers

Accompanying Letter to the Report

Learning from leaders

History, mission and activities