Alumni elect new Overseers and HAA directors

In this year’s alumni elections, Harvard degree holders selected seven fellow alumni to join the University’s Board of Overseers and six to join the board of directors of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA). The new Overseers will assume their roles on May 29, while the HAA directors will begin their terms on July 1. 

New members of the Board of Overseers

Five new Overseers, listed in ballot order, were elected for six-year terms.

Arti Garg, Ph.D. ’08
A.B. and B.S. ’99, M.S. ’01, Stanford University; M.S. ’02, University of Washington
EVP and Chief Technologist, AVEVA
Hayward, California

Teresa Hillary Clarke ’84, cum laude, J.D. ’89, M.B.A. ’89
Chair and Executive Editor, Africa.com; Former Managing Director, Goldman Sachs & Co.
Miami

Nadine Burke Harris, M.P.H. ’02
B.A. ’96, University of California, Berkeley; M.D. ’01, University of California, Davis
Pediatrician and Former Surgeon General of California
Sebastopol, California

Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, L.L.M. ’98
J.D. ’95, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Former Justice, Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Mexico)
Mexico City, Mexico

Philip L. Harrison ’86, magna cum laude, M.A.R. ’93 with distinction
Chief Executive Officer, Perkins&Will
Atlanta

Two additional Overseers were elected to finish the terms left by Sylvia Mathews Burwell ’87, who resigned in anticipation of joining the Harvard Corporation in July, and Vikas Sukhatme, M.D. ’79.

Salvo Arena, L.L.M. ’00 — Elected to serve a three-year term.
J.D. ’93, Ph.D. ’99, University of Catania
Partner, Chiomenti
New York

Clive Chang, M.B.A. ’11 — Elected to serve a two-year term.
B.Mus. ’07 with honors, B.Com. ’07, McGill University; M.F.A. ’09, New York University
President and CEO, YoungArts: The National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists
Miami

Nine candidates for the Board of Overseers were nominated by an alumni nominating committee whose 13 voting members are appointed by the Harvard Alumni Association executive committee. Harvard degree holders cast a total of 31,818 ballots in the election.

The Board of Overseers is one of Harvard’s two governing boards, along with the President and Fellows, also known as the Corporation. Formally established in 1642, the board plays an integral role in the governance of the University, complementing the Corporation’s work as Harvard’s principal fiduciary board. As a central part of its work, the board directs the visitation process, the primary means for periodic external assessment of Harvard’s Schools and departments. Through its array of standing committees, and the roughly 50 visiting committees that report to them, the board probes the quality of Harvard’s programs and assures that the University remains true to its charter as a place of learning. More generally, drawing on its members’ diverse experience and expertise, the board provides counsel to the University’s leadership on priorities, plans, and strategic initiatives. The board also has the power of consent to certain actions, such as the election of Corporation members. Additional information about the board, its members, and its work can be found on its webpage.

Newly elected HAA directors

Allison Charney Epstein ’89, magna cum laude with highest honors
M.M. ’91, A.D. ’94, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
Opera Singer, Producer
New York

Mia Esther Alpert ’99, cum laude
Founder and President Emerita, Harvardwood
Los Angeles

Jeffrey H. Tignor ’96, cum laude
J.D. ’99, Duke University
Attorney-Adviser, Federal Communications Commission; Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke University School of Law
Washington, D.C.

Jimmy Biblarz ’14, magna cum laude, J.D. ’21, cum laude, Ph.D. ’23
Attorney, Hueston Hennigan; Lecturer in Law, UCLA School of Law
Los Angeles

Medha Gargeya ’14, magna cum laude, J.D. ’19
Senior Associate, WilmerHale; Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School; Captain, U.S. Air Force Reserves
Washington, D.C.

David G. Lefer ’93, cum laude
M.Sc. ’95, Columbia University
Director of the Innovation and Technology Forum and Industry Associate Professor, New York University
New York

The new directors were elected for three-year terms. They were chosen from among nine candidates, nominated by the same HAA committee that puts forward candidates for Overseers. Harvard degree holders cast 32,867 ballots in the directors election.

The HAA board, including its elected directors, is an advisory board that aims to foster a sense of community, engagement, and University citizenship among Harvard alumni around the world. The work focuses on developing volunteer leadership and increasing and deepening alumni engagement through an array of programs that support alumni communities worldwide. In recent years, the board’s priorities have included strengthening outreach to recent graduates and graduate school alumni and continuing to build and promote inclusive communities.