Douglas Elmendorf has served as Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School since 2016. Dean Elmendorf served as the director of the Congressional budget Office from 2009 to 2015. He was previously an assistant professor at Harvard University, a senior economist at the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, and an assistant director of the Division of Research and Statistics at the Federal Reserve Board. Today Dean Elmendorf shares his thoughts on the relationship between academia and real world policy making, his vision for the Kennedy School in an ever-changing global landscape, and the challenges and joys of public leadership.

Dara Kay Cohen is a Ford Foundation Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her research and teaching focus on international security, civil war and gender. Her book, Rape During Civil War (2016) received the 2017 Theodore J. Lowi First Book Award from the American Political Science Association, the 2018 Best Book Award from the International Security Studies Section. Dr. Cohen is the recipient of the 2019 Emerging Scholar Award from the International Studies Association.

Aaron Huang is a Pickering Fellow and MPP candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has worked in the State Department in East Asia for the last 3 years and will serve in the Foreign Service for a minimum of 5 years upon graduation. Aaron also currently works at the Carr Center for Human Rights doing research on electoral reform. Aaron shares his perspectives on Chinese-American relations, human rights, and how to better serve the American people through diplomacy.

Ben Mclarey is a senior at Harvard and has worked for the City of Marshfield public works department maintenance team for 3 years. Ben shares his thoughts on the importance of local government, civiv engagement, vocational education, and compulsory national service.