Harvard Alumni Association Committee Proposes New Overseers and Elected Directors

Harvard announced its nominees for the Board of Overseers — the University’s second highest governing body — and for directors of the Harvard Alumni Association Thursday.

The Board of Overseers’ responsibilities include providing input on decisions about the direction of the University, advising top Harvard administrators, and approving certain actions taken by the University’s highest governing body, the Harvard Corporation. Members of the Board serve six-year terms.

The eight nominees vying for five anticipated vacancies on the Board are all Harvard degree holders from around the world. They include President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Raphael William Bostic ’87, Head of Sustainable Investing at Putnam Investments Katherine A. Collins, Chief Innovation Officer for Samsung Electronics and President of Samsung NEXT David H. Eun ’89, Senior Vice President of Merrill Lynch and freelance journalist Susan Morris Novick ’85, Executive Vice President for Intuit Inc. Diego A. Rodriguez, Princeton University Professor and 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States Tracy K. Smith ’94, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group Miki Uchida Tsusaka ’84, and Director of the Iowa Department of Education and Dean-Designate at Drake University School of Education Ryan M. Wise.

Both Rodriguez and Wise already serve on the Board of Overseers, as they are completing unexpired terms for Overseers who ended their terms early.

Elected directors of the Harvard Alumni Association serve as representatives for alumni across the University. This year’s nine nominees — running for six positions — include Senior Consultant on Sustainable Infrastructure and Energy at the Inter-American Development Bank Santiago Creuheras, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at McMaster University Kelsey Trey Leonard ’10, Strategic Technology Adviser at iCorps Technologies Michael D. Lewis ’93, CBS Boston medical reporter and Massachusetts General Hospital physician Mallika J. Marshall ’92, CEO and Principal at Origin Investments David R. Scherer ’93, CEO of Altamont Group Sajida H. Shroff, CEO of Nova Invite Benjamin D. Wei ’08, CEO of Alariss Global Joyce Y. Zhang ’09, and Co-Founder and CEO of Not Sorry Productions Vanessa M. Zoltan.

This year’s nominations did not come without controversy. Harvard Forward — a student and alumni group working to bring attention to climate change within Harvard’s governance boards — backed a slate of candidates for the Board of Overseers, built on a platform of fossil fuel divestment and ensuring younger alumni were represented.

None of Harvard Forward’s five candidates were nominated by the Harvard Alumni Association. Harvard Forward declined to comment for this story.

Candidates who are not currently listed on the ballot can petition to be added to the ballot by Feb. 1.

Elections begin April 1 and close on May 19 at 5 p.m. All Harvard degree holders — except members of the Harvard Corporation and those in University instruction and governance positions — are eligible to vote by traditional paper ballot or online for the Board candidates. All Harvard degree holders are eligible to vote for Harvard Alumni Association elected directors.

—Staff writer Michelle G. Kurilla can be reached at michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @MichelleKurilla.