Distinguished Presidential Scholars
Tal Ben-Shahar: A happiness and well-being scholar, Ben-Shahar received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University, where he later began teaching a class called Positive Psychology. It ultimately became one of the most popular courses in Harvard's history, leading him to write best-selling books on the topic. Today, Ben-Shahar works as a consultant for companies across the globe and has created his own online curriculum called Happiness Studies Academy.
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Carlos D. Bustamante: The founding chair and professor of the Department of Biomedical Data Science, Bustamante is also a professor of genetics and biology at Stanford University School of Medicine. The Harvard-educated population geneticist’s research not only focuses on genomics technology and its application in medicine, agriculture, and evolutionary biology, but on empowering policymakers to use the field of genomics and data science to improve human health and well-being.
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Sir James Galway: An internationally acclaimed flautist from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Galway is a world-class artist and educator. He has sold more than 30 million recordings worldwide and has collaborated with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Joni Mitchell, and Sir Elton John. His musical talents can also be heard throughout television and film soundtracks, including “The Lord of the Rings.”
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David Naylor: A professor of medicine and president emeritus at the University of Toronto, Naylor is the co-author of approximately 300 scholarly publications. They span topics that include social history, public policy, health economics, epidemiology, and biostatistics—as well as clinical and health services research in most fields of medicine. Naylor is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, an international member of the U.S Academy of Medicine, and an officer at the Order of Canada.
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Maureen Raymo: A paleoceanographer and geologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Raymo has taken part in pioneering research. The studies center on the reconstruction of sea level and ice volume during past warm climate intervals with the goal of improving predictions of future sea level rise in response to global warming. She is the first woman to win the Geological Society of London’s prestigious Wollaston Medal in its 187-year history, and she is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Lawrence Summers: Recognized as among the world’s most eminent economists and a brilliant professor with an astute understanding of the business sphere, Summers served as the 27th president of Harvard University. He was the first social scientist to receive the annual Alan T. Waterman Award of the National Science Foundation, and he was also awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, given every two years to the nation’s best economist younger than the age of 40. Over a span of two decades, Summers has served in a range of senior policy posts in both the Clinton and Obama Administrations, while advancing a parallel career as an academic leader. He has published more than 150 papers in scholarly journals.
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Distinguished Presidential Fellows
Susan Meiselas: Having traveled the world with her cameras for more than 40 years, Meiselas' work has pulled back the curtain on little-known subcultures and revealed the devastating impact of profound social and political upheavals on individual lives. Along the way, she has created powerful, often shocking yet always compassionate, images of subjects ranging from teenagers in New York’s Little Italy to Nicaraguans swept up in their nation’s Sandinista revolution to the indigenous Dani tribe of West Papua, New Guinea. Solo exhibitions of Meiselas' work have been presented in cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Madrid, and Amsterdam. Her photographs are in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art, and Museum of Modern Art.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: The former U.S. Congresswoman is a celebrated and dedicated public servant with a wealth of experience and inside understanding of U.S. foreign policy. Ros-Lehtinen was elected to the Florida State House of Representatives in 1982 and the Florida Senate in 1986, becoming the first Hispanic woman to serve in either body. She represented Florida’s 27th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 to 2019, becoming the first Hispanic woman to serve in Congress, where she held the position of chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. She also served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
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Yoani Sanchez: A well-known Cuban independent journalist who has gained fame by her brazen coverage of everyday life on the island, Sanchez first chronicled an account in her blog Generation Y. In 2014, she launched the digital newspaper 14ymedio, which offers a fresh voice on the island with exclusive national news, highlighting not only political and economic developments but also social and cultural activities. In 2008, Time magazine listed her as one of the world's 100 most influential people.
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