Wilson Center President to Step Down After Almost Decade of Service

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Ryan McKenna
Phone: (202) 691-4217
Ryan.Mckenna@wilsoncenter.org

WASHINGTON – Today, Wilson Center President and CEO Jane Harman announced that she will step down from her role when her contract expires in February 2021. Harman communicated her decision in a letter to the Wilson Center’s Board of Trustees where she highlighted the Center’s record of accomplishment.

Harman served nine terms in Congress on all the major security committees, including four years as Ranking Member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.  She left in 2011 to succeed former Congressman Lee Hamilton as Wilson Center President and CEO, the first woman to hold that position.  In addition to her duties at the Center, Harman serves on the Defense Policy Board, the Homeland Security Advisory Council, the Homeland Security Experts Group, the Presidential Debates Commission, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Boards of the Aspen Institute and Iridium Communications Inc.  Her book on successes and failures in national security policy over three decades will be published in May.

“The Wilson Center has been fortunate to have Jane at the helm for nearly a decade and our organization is stronger because of her leadership.  Jane’s excellent bipartisan relationships, and deep connections with global business leaders and foreign dignitaries has helped ensure that the Wilson Center is the nation’s top policy forum for tackling global issues.  We appreciate Jane’s excellent leadership and value her tremendous service,” said Wilson Center Board Vice Chair, Drew Maloney.  “The board now will begin a comprehensive search for her replacement in order to ensure continuity in leadership at the Wilson Center.”

Said Harman, “I believe I have accomplished what the Board recruited me to do, and the time has come for me to begin a new chapter.  I will leave the Center in your good hands and with great affection and admiration for the team that remains.” 

Notes to editors:

1. The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world.