Members of the Board of Regents

Image of the Castle.

Congress vested responsibility for the administration of the Smithsonian in a 17-member Board of Regents.

As specified in the Smithsonian's charter, the Chief Justice of the United States and the Vice President of the United States are ex officio members of the Board, meaning that they serve as a duty of their office. The Chief Justice also serves as the Chancellor of the Smithsonian.

There are six congressional Regents: three Senators are appointed by the President pro tempore of the United States Senate and three Representatives are appointed by the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Their terms on the Board coincide with their elected terms in Congress, and they may be reappointed to the Board if reelected.

Nine Regents are from the general public, two of whom must reside in the District of Columbia and seven of whom must be inhabitants of the 50 states (but no two from the same state). Each is nominated by the Board of Regents and appointed for a statutory term of six years by a Joint Resolution of the Congress, which is then signed into law by the President. In accordance with the Bylaws adopted by the Board of Regents in 1979, citizen members may not serve more than two successive terms.

The members of the Board of Regents are:

Chart of Appointed Terms (PDF) Download Adobe Reader for PDF files at get.adobe.com/reader.

RobertsJohn G. Roberts, Jr., Chancellor
Appointed 2005

John G. Roberts, Jr., the 17th Chief Justice of the United States, served as a law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1979 to 1980 and as a law clerk for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1980 term. He served as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States from 1981 to 1982, as Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1986, and as Principal Deputy Solicitor General from 1989 to 1993. From 1986 to 1989 and 1993 to 2003, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. He served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2003 to 2005. Nominated as Chief Justice of the United States by President George W. Bush, he assumed that office on September 29, 2005.

PenceMichael R. Pence
Installed 2017

Michael R. Pence is the 48th and current Vice President of the United States. Michael R. Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana, on June 7, 1959, one of six children born to Edward and Nancy Pence. Vice President Pence set off for Hanover College, earning his bachelor’s degree in history in 1981. He later attended Indiana University School of Law and met the love of his life, Second Lady Karen Pence. After graduating, Vice President Pence practiced law, led the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, and began hosting The Mike Pence Show, a syndicated talk radio show and a weekly television public affairs program in Indiana. Along the way he became the proud father to three children, Michael, Charlotte, and Audrey. In 2000, he launched a successful bid for his local congressional seat, entering the United States House of Representatives at the age of 40. The people of East-Central Indiana elected Vice President Pence six times to represent them in Congress. His colleagues quickly recognized his leadership ability and unanimously elected him to serve as Chairman of the House Republican Study Committee and House Republican Conference Chairman. In this role, the Vice President helped make government smaller and more effective, reduce spending, and return power to state and local governments. In 2013, Vice President Pence left the nation’s capital when Hoosiers elected him the 50th Governor of Indiana. Vice President Pence’s record of legislative and executive experience, and his strong family values prompted President Donald Trump to select Mike Pence as his running mate in July 2016. The American people elected President Donald Trump and Vice President Pence on November 8, 2016. President Donald Trump and Vice President Pence entered office on January 20, 2017.

BoozmanJohn Boozman
Appointed 2015
Committees: Compensation and Human Resources; Strategy, Innovation, and Technology

John Boozman is Arkansas’s senior U.S. Senator and the dean of the state’s Congressional delegation. Raised in Fort Smith, John graduated from Northside High School and went on to play football for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks while completing his pre-optometry requirements. He graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977 and entered private practice that same year co-founding a family business with his brother that would ultimately become a major provider of eye care to Northwest Arkansas. Decades of experience as a successful healthcare provider and a small business owner guide John’s approach to governing. He is committed to advocating for economic policies that help Arkansas’s small businesses continue to grow and add jobs to our state’s economy. And since agriculture accounts for nearly one-quarter of Arkansas’s economic activity, John has been a consistent champion for the state’s farmers, ranchers and loggers and was instrumental in the fight for an equitable farm bill. As the son of an Air Force Master Sergeant, John learned at an early age about the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, as well as the unique challenges military families face. He brings these values with him to Washington where he is committed to enhancing the quality of life for both our veterans and their families. John has authored provisions to extend successful federal homeless veteran programs, expand treatments for our wounded warriors and modernize educational benefits under the GI Bill. John serves on four committees and chairs two subcommittees in the 116th Congress. Along with these committees, John serves on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, commonly referred to as the Helsinki Commission. He serves on the Congressional Study Group on Europe (CSGE), a bipartisan organization dedicated to frank and candid dialogue between American lawmakers and their peers in European capitals and Brussels and has been appointed the Vice Chairman of the Senate Delegation to the British-American Interparliamentary Group during the 116thCongress.  In addition, John also serves as one of six Congressional Regents on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents which governs and administers the organization. First elected to the Senate in 2010, John was sworn in for a second term on January 3, 2017. Prior to serving in the Senate, he represented the people of the Third District of Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives. Active in his community, John has served on the Rogers School Board, the Benton County Fair Board, established the low vision program at the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock and worked as a volunteer optometrist at an area clinic that provides medical services to low-income families. He successfully raised Polled Hereford cattle that were competitive in the show ring, as well as in bull testing at Oklahoma State University. John is married to the former Cathy Marley and they currently reside in Rogers, AR. The couple has three daughters and three grandchildren.

leahyPatrick Leahy
Appointed 2001
Committees: Facilities; Governance and Nominating

Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont and former prosecutor, has served since 1975 in the Senate, where his legislative leadership focuses on foreign policy, national security, human rights, and humanitarian relief; technology law and innovation, privacy rights, civil liberties, and government transparency; and farm and nutrition policy, environmental protection, and conservation. Ranking first in seniority, Senator Leahy is President Pro Tempore Emeritus of the Senate and Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He also is the most senior member of the Agriculture and Judiciary committees, and serves on the Rules and Administration Committee. He is Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on the Department of State and Foreign Operations, and sits on its Defense; Interior, Environment; Agriculture; Commerce, Justice, Science; and Homeland Security subcommittees. He was installed in the FOIA Hall of Fame for championing open government and is one of only two politicians ever awarded the John Peter Zenger Press Freedom Award. Senator Leahy co-founded and continues to co-chair the Congressional Internet Caucus. A Co-Chair of the Senate National Guard Caucus, he received the Harry S. Truman Award, the highest civilian honor of the National Guard Association.

PerdueDavid Perdue
Appointed 2015
Committees: Audit and Review; Finance

David Perdue is the junior United States Senator from Georgia. David is the only Fortune 500 CEO in Congress and has over 40 years of business experience as the former CEO of Reebok athletic brand and Dollar General stores, where he created thousands of quality jobs and helped working families make it from payday to payday. David was born in Macon, Georgia, and raised in Warner Robins where he grew up working on his family farm. Both of David’s parents were school teachers, and from an early age David was taught the importance of hard work and a good education. At Georgia Tech, David earned a degree in industrial engineering and a master’s in operations research while working warehouse and construction jobs. After graduating, he married his wife Bonnie, whom he had met in the first grade, and they have been married for 46 years. Prior to his decisive election to the U.S. Senate in 2014, David had never held public office and was inspired to shake up Washington and change the direction of our country. David is a champion for term limits for politicians, reining in out-of-control spending, growing the economy, and tackling our nation’s debt crisis. In 2016, David was an early supporter of President Donald J. Trump and continues to be one of the President's closest allies in the U.S. Senate. For the 116th Congress, David serves on the Armed Services Committee; Banking Committee; Agriculture Committee; and Budget Committee. His role on these powerful committees puts him at the intersection of solving our national debt crisis and global security crisis. David and Bonnie live in Glynn County, Georgia, and attend Wesley United Methodist Church. They have two sons and three grandsons, who are their inspiration for coming to the U.S. Senate.

MatsuiDoris Matsui
Appointed 2017
Committees: Finance; Governance and Nominating; Strategy, Innovation, and Technology

Congresswoman Doris Matsui has represented the city of Sacramento and its surrounding areas since 2005. As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, she serves on the Health, Communications & Technology, Environment, and Digital Commerce & Consumer Protection subcommittees. The Congresswoman serves as Co-Chair of the Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition, Co-Chair of the High Tech Caucus, and Co-Chair of the National Service Caucus. Before coming to Congress, Congresswoman Matsui served on numerous advisory boards, community organizations, and honorary committees. She served as Chairwoman of the Board for the KVIE public television station in Sacramento, and in leadership capacities for the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento Children's Home, and the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra. In D.C., she served on the Woodrow Wilson Center Board of Trustees, and in leadership capacities for the Meridian International Center and Arena Stage. She currently serves as an Advisory Board Member of the National Museum of American History and is on the Board of the National Symphony Orchestra. During President Bill Clinton's first term in office, she served as one of eight members of the President's transition board. She later served as Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Public Liaison.

Lucille Roybal-AllardLucille Roybal-Allard
Appointed 2019
Committees: Audit and Review; Facilities

Lucille Roybal-Allard of California has served in the House of Representatives since 1993.  She is the first Mexican-American woman ever elected to Congress, the first Latina to serve on the House Appropriations Committee, and the first Latina to chair an Appropriations subcommittee.  As chair of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, she fights to ensure homeland security personnel have the resources they need to keep the country safe, and she advocates for bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform.  She is the House’s only remaining original coauthor of the Dream Act and a founder of the Women’s Working Group on Immigration Reform.  She is also a House Democratic Senior Whip; a member and former chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; a co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Maternity Care;  a vice chair of the Congressional Task Force on Seniors; and a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.  Congresswoman Roybal-Allard is the eldest daughter of the late Congressman Edward R. Roybal and Lucille Beserra Roybal.  She received her bachelor's degree from California State University, Los Angeles, and served in the California State Assembly from 1987 to 1992.  She is married to Edward T. Allard III.  Together, she and her husband have four children and nine grandchildren.

Matsui

John Shimkus
Appointed 2019
Committees: Facilities; Governance and Nominating

Congressman John M. Shimkus has served in the Army, as a high school teacher, a county treasurer, and now as a Member of the United States House of Representatives for the 15th District of Illinois.  Among his duties in Congress, John is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Republican Leader of its Environment & Climate Change Subcommittee.  He also serves on the Health and Communications & Technology Subcommittees; the NG9-1-1, Recycling, Coal, Steel, and Baltic Caucuses; as well as the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents.

Steve CaseSteve Case, Chair
Appointed 2017
Committees: Executive (Chair); Compensation and Human Resources; Investment; Strategy, Innovation, and Technology

Steve Case is an entrepreneur, innovator, and philanthropist. For the past 15 years, Steve’s focus has been on starting and scaling Revolution, the Washington DC-based investment firm that backs entrepreneurs at every stage of their development. Prior to starting Revolution, Mr. Case was the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of America Online, Inc. (AOL) and, later, the Chairman of AOL Time Warner. As Co-Founder of AOL, he played an integral role in building the world's largest Internet company, driving the worldwide adoption of the internet. Mr. Case is Chair of the Case Foundation, which seeks to democratize philanthropy, encourage civic engagement, and promote innovative technologies that facilitate both. As members of the Giving Pledge, an effort started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, Mr. Case and his wife, Jean Case, have publicly affirmed their commitment to give away the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. In addition, Mr. Case chaired the Startup America Partnership, co-chaired the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and served on President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. He is also author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future.

FaheyJohn Fahey
Appointed 2014
Committees: Compensation and Human Resources (Chair); Governance and Nominating (Chair); Finance

John Fahey is Chairman Emeritus of the National Geographic Society. He served as CEO of National Geographic from 1998 to 2013 and as President from 1998 to 2010. As President and CEO, he led an evolution of the National Geographic Society, including its entry into cable television, the international growth of National Geographic magazine, and the extension of National Geographic content into digital media. He also advanced the Society's efforts to improve geographic literacy and guided the expansion of the Society's international Mission Programs. In 2011, he received Peru's highest civilian award, "Orden del Sol del Peru," for his and National Geographic's role in helping retrieve a collection of ancient artifacts taken from Machu Picchu in 1912. Before joining National Geographic, he was Chairman, President, and CEO of Time Life Inc. He also worked for Home Box Office, where he was instrumental in the startup of CINEMAX. He currently serves on the boards of Johnson Outdoors, Linbald Expeditions, and Great Plains Investment LLC. He also is a member of the Board and Executive Committee of the National Museum of Natural History.

FergusonRoger W. Ferguson, Jr.
Appointed 2017
Committees: Finance (Chair); Investment (Vice Chair); Audit and Review

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., is President and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA, the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical, and cultural fields and a Fortune 100 financial services organization. Mr. Ferguson is the former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System. He represented the Federal Reserve on several international policy groups and served on key Federal Reserve System committees, including Payment System Oversight, Reserve Bank Operations, and Supervision and Regulation. As the only Governor in Washington, D.C. on 9/11, he led the Fed’s initial response to the terrorist attacks, taking actions that kept the U.S. financial system functioning while reassuring the global financial community that the U.S. economy would not be paralyzed. Prior to joining TIAA in April 2008, Mr. Ferguson was head of financial services for Swiss Re, Chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corporation, and a member of the company’s executive committee. From 1984 to 1997, he was an Associate and Partner at McKinsey & Company. He began his career as an attorney at the New York City office of Davis Polk & Wardwell. Mr. Ferguson is a member of the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and co-chairs its Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education. He serves on the boards of Alphabet, Inc.; General Mills, Inc.; and International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. He is Chairman of The Conference Board and serves on the boards of the Institute for Advanced Study and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is a fellow of the American Philosophical Society and a member of the Economic Club of New York, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Group of Thirty. Mr. Ferguson served on President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness as well as its predecessor, the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and he co-chaired the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on the Long-Run Macro-Economic Effects of the Aging U.S. Population. Mr. Ferguson holds a B.A., J.D., and a Ph.D. in economics, all from Harvard University.

Michael GovanMichael Govan
Appointed 2017
Committees: Compensation and Human Resources; Facilities; Strategy, Innovation, and Technology

Michael Govan joined the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as Chief Executive Officer and Wallis Annenberg Director in 2006. In this role, he oversees all activities of the museum, from art programming to the expansion and upgrade of the museum’s twenty-acre campus. During his tenure, LACMA has acquired by donation or purchase more than 27,000 works for the permanent collection, gallery space and programs have almost doubled, and annual attendance has grown from 600,000 to nearly 1.6 million in 2016. Currently the museum in the process of building a new, state of the art gallery building designed by architect Peter Zumthor.

Risa J. Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D.Risa J. Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., Vice Chair
Appointed 2014
Committees: Executive (Vice Chair); Audit and Review (Chair); Facilities; Strategy, Innovation, and Technology

Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey was named the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professor of Population Health and Health Equity at the University of Pennsylvania, with appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and the Wharton School, effective January 1, 2018.  She is president emerita and former CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropy organization dedicated solely to health and health care. With more than 30 years of experience as a medical practitioner, policy-maker, professor, and nonprofit executive, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey combines the scientific and ethical values she learned as a doctor with an enduring conviction that meaningful philanthropy must achieve lasting social change. Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey previously served as the Sylvan Eisman Professor of Medicine and Health Care Systems at the University of Pennsylvania. She also directed Penn’s Institute on Aging and was chief of geriatric medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine. At the Federal level, she served as deputy administrator of what is now the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality and worked on the White House Health Care Reform Task Force; she also served on numerous Federal advisory committees. Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

LyntonMichael M. Lynton
Appointed 2014
Committees: Strategy, Innovation, and Technology (Chair); Advancement; Governance and Nominating

Michael Lynton is the Chairman of the Board of Snap Inc. and the Former CEO of Sony Entertainment. Michael Lynton served as the CEO of Sony Entertainment from April 2012 until February 2017, overseeing Sony’s global entertainment businesses, including Sony Music Entertainment, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Michael also served as Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment since January 2004. Prior to joining Sony Pictures, he worked for Time Warner and served as CEO of AOL Europe, President of AOL International and President of Time Warner International, and earlier served as Chairman and CEO of Pearson plc's Penguin Group where he oversaw the acquisition of Putnam, Inc. and extended the Penguin brand to music and the Internet. Michael currently serves on the Board of Snap, Inc., IEX, and Ares Management, L.P. He is also a member on the Council on Foreign Relations and the Harvard Board of Overseers and serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Tate, and the Rand Corporation. Michael holds a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard College, where he also received his M.B.A.

Denise M. O'Leary
Appointed 2020
Committees: Advancement; Audit and Review; Compensation and Human Resources

Ms. O’Leary is a private venture capital investor and a corporate director.  She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of American Airlines Group, Inc. and Medtronic plc. She has previously served on the boards of US Airways, Inc. until that company’s merger with American Airlines at the end of 2013, ALZA Corporation, America West Airlines Group, Inc., Calpine Corporation, Chiron Corporation, Del Monte Foods Company and numerous private companies. Additionally, Ms. O’Leary is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Denver and serves on the Advisory Council of the Colorado Impact Fund. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of Stanford Hospital and Clinics, where she served as Chair of the Board, and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.  She was a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees for 15 years, during which time she was Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Committee on the Medical Center. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Connect for Health Colorado (the state health exchange), the Smithsonian National Board, and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, where she served as Chair of the Board. A graduate of Stanford University (BS, Industrial Engineering, 1979) and Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration (MBA, 1983), Ms. O’Leary was a General Partner at Menlo Ventures in Menlo Park, CA for 15 years.

RainesFranklin D. Raines
Appointed 2020

Frank Raines is Executive Chairman and Co-founder of the digital services companies XAPPmedia and Bespoken.io. The first African American CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation, Frank retired as Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae in 2004. He previously served as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton Administration where he led the negotiations that resulted in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Frank began his professional career working for Senator Moynihan in the White House. He later became the assistant director of the White House Domestic Policy Staff in the Carter administration and followed that role becoming associate director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget from 1978-1979.  Frank later joined investment bank Lazard Freres & Co where he served as partner from 1985 -1991. Frank has served on the board of Directors of six Fortune 100 companies, and also served as Co-Chairman of the Business Roundtable and Vice Chairman of the Business Council. Frank has been an investor and board member of several start-up companies and was a member of the Board of the National Urban League and the fundraising cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. He was a founding member of the Advisory Council of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Originally from Seattle, Washington, he earned his B.A. (magna cum laude) from Harvard College in 1971. He attended Magdalen College, Oxford University in England as a Rhodes Scholar and graduated from the Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1976. He is also the recipient of the Harvard Medal and the Distinguished Service Medal by the Department of Defense. He has been elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Social Insurance, and as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

David M. RubensteinDavid M. Rubenstein
Appointed 2009
Committees: Facilities (Chair); Advancement; Executive; Investment

David M. Rubenstein is a Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms.  Mr. Rubenstein co-founded the firm in 1987.  Since then, Carlyle has grown into a firm managing $224 billion from 32 offices around the world. Mr. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Council on Foreign Relations; a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation; a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution; a Trustee of the National Gallery of Art, the University of Chicago, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Institute for Advanced Study, the National Constitution Center, the Brookings Institution, and the World Economic Forum; a Director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and President of the Economic Club of Washington.   Mr. Rubenstein is a member of the American Philosophical Society, Business Council, Harvard Global Advisory Council (Chairman), Madison Council of the Library of Congress (Chairman), Board of Dean’s Advisors of the Business School at Harvard, Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University (former Chairman), and Board of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community.  Mr. Rubenstein has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Duke University and the Smithsonian Institution, and Co-Chairman of the Board of the Brookings Institution.  Mr. Rubenstein, a native of Baltimore, is a 1970 magna cum laude graduate of Duke University, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa.  Following Duke, Mr. Rubenstein graduated in 1973 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review.  From 1973-1975, Mr. Rubenstein practiced law in New York with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.  From 1975-1976, he served as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments.  From 1977-1981, during the Carter Administration, Mr. Rubenstein was Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy.  After his White House service and before co-founding Carlyle, Mr. Rubenstein practiced law in Washington with Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman).