Overseers, Alumni Association directors elected

Harvard Alumni Association President Margaret Wang '09 at the Afternoon Program.

Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

Campus & Community
Overseers, Alumni Association directors elected

May 30, 2019 3 min read

In the first year online ballots were cast for Overseers, votes increased by 37 percent

Seven alumni have been elected as new members of Harvard University’s Board of Overseers and six as directors of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA). The University announced the election results today at the HAA’s annual meeting following the University’s 368th Commencement.

The seven new Overseers are:

Alice Hm Chen, Berkeley, Calif.
M.P.H. ’01
Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director, San Francisco Health Network

Janet Echelman, Brookline, Mass.
A.B. ’87, magna cum laude
Visual Artist, Studio Echelman

Vivian Hunt DBE, London
A.B. ’89, cum laude, M.B.A. ’95
Managing Partner, U.K. and Ireland, McKinsey & Company, Inc.

Tyler Jacks, Cambridge, Mass.
A.B. ’83, magna cum laude
Director, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

John B. King Jr., Washington, D.C.
A.B. ’96 (’95), magna cum laude
President and Chief Executive Officer, The Education Trust

Reshma Saujani, New York City
M.P.P. ’99
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Girls Who Code

Ryan Wise, Des Moines, Iowa
Ed.L.D. ’13
Director, Iowa Department of Education

Five of the new Overseers were elected for six-year terms. Echelman will complete the remaining four years of the term of Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar ’93, who has been elected to the Harvard Corporation.Wise will complete the remaining year of the term of James Hildreth ’79, who resigned from the board in view of other professional obligations.

The new Overseers were elected from a slate of nine candidates who were nominated by an HAA committee as prescribed by the election rules. This year marked the first time that eligible voters had the opportunity to cast their ballots online. Harvard degree holders cast 36,735 ballots in the election, an increase of about 37 percent from 2018, when the total was 26,765.

The primary function of the Board of Overseers is to encourage the University to maintain the highest attainable standards as a place of learning. Drawing on the diverse experience and expertise of its members, the board exerts broad influence over the University’s strategic direction, provides essential counsel to the University’s leadership on priorities and plans, has the power of consent for certain actions (such as election of members of the Harvard Corporation), and directs the visitation process by which a broad array of Harvard Schools and departments are periodically reviewed.

The six newly elected HAA directors are:

Bryan C. Barnhill II, Detroit
A.B. ’08
City Manager of the City Solutions Group, Ford Smart Mobility

Ethel Billie Branch, Flagstaff, Ariz.
A.B. ’01 cum laude, J.D. ’08, M.P.P. ’08
Former Attorney General, The Navajo Nation

Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte, Brussels
LL.M. ’94
Managing Partner, Hogan Lovells

Adrienne E. Dominguez, Dallas
A.B. ’90, cum laude
Partner, Intellectual Property, Thompson & Knight LLP

Christina Lewis, New York City
A.B. ’02, cum laude
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, All Star Code

Zandile H. Moyo, Los Angeles
A.B. ’00, cum laude
Business Development and Social Impact Manager, Califia Farms

The new directors were each elected for three-year terms. They were chosen from a slate of nine candidates, who were nominated by an HAA committee as prescribed by the election rules. This year, Harvard degree holders cast 38,182 ballots in the election.

The HAA board of directors is an advisory body that guides the fostering of alumni community-building and creating University citizens of alumni and alumni volunteers. The main work of the board focuses on developing volunteer leadership and increasing and deepening alumni engagement through an array of programs that support alumni communities worldwide.