From San Francisco to Singapore, HKS Dean Jeremy Weinstein Meets Alumni Where They Are

Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein has made global alumni outreach a central focus of his first two years in office, embarking on an unusually extensive series of international visits.

Since taking office in July 2024, Weinstein has hosted more than a dozen “HKS on the Road” events across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, reaching more than 1,000 alumni. Additional events are scheduled in Germany, Atlanta, Mexico City, and Monterrey.

The scale and frequency of the travel mark a shift from his predecessor, former dean Douglas W. Elmendorf, whose alumni engagements were more intermittent and typically centered on formal presentations. Weinstein’s events have instead emphasized conversation, often structured as fireside chats, interviews, and open Q&A sessions.

Alumni who have attended Weinstein’s events said he has used the sessions to solicit input on the school’s priorities, with conversations spanning geopolitics, economic challenges, democracy, and the policy implications of emerging technologies.

Rodrick T. Miller, vice chair of the HKS Alumni Board, said discussions at the events have increasingly focused on how the Kennedy School should adapt to technological change.

“There has been a lot of conversation about how to modernize the recruitment and mission strategy,” he said. “He has done a lot to really focus on how we think about technology as an institution? What are the skills from a tech competency that the next generation needs in terms of public private policy practitioners.”

The emphasis reflects Weinstein’s own background. Before arriving at Harvard, he spent nearly two decades at Stanford University, where he worked at the intersection of technology and public policy and helped develop programs focused on data science.

One week before starting his post at HKS, Weinstein told alumni in San Francisco that he hoped to increase the Kennedy School’s focus on studying the intersection of technology and politics.

Miller added that Weinstein’s background as an HKS alumnus has also shaped his engagement with graduates.

“He is also a Kennedy School alum, and I think that’s very important,” Miller said. “He’s been very active in not just being the dean, but in building relationships as a fellow alum.”

For some alumni, the shift in approach has made them feel more directly included in the school’s trajectory.

“I think Jeremy is the right person at the right time for the school,” said Jakob Haesler, a Kennedy School graduate who attended a March 2025 event in London. “He’s committed to public service, and he also brings this exposure to the world of technology, and also of a different approach of defining what impact is and how you actually get impact.”

“I think that as a person, he’s a very integrative and inclusive person, and so he’s really, he’s took everyone on the journey,” Haesler added.

Beyond the formal event series, Weinstein has also traveled to meet alumni in Oman, Denmark, Norway, Japan, and Israel and the West Bank, where he sought to repair relationships with Palestinian alumni.

School officials have said the outreach is not only to strengthen alumni ties but also to gather input as the Kennedy School reexamines its mission. Weinstein has said he aims to visit alumni communities on every continent where the school has graduates.

Morgan Zaidel, who attended the London event, said the gathering drew alumni from across generations and emphasized both community and institutional direction.

“It really had people from pretty much the first years of HKS — graduating classes maybe from the ’60s or ’70s — all the way until I was a recent grad,” she said.

Zaidel said Weinstein used the event to outline his priorities and discuss broader tensions facing Harvard, including addressing how the University was dealing with the Trump administration.

“Impression-wise, I was very impressed,” Zaidel said. “He seemed like a good, steady person to help lead HKS through these particularly challenging times.”

“And even though he was newly appointed, it just felt like I felt confident in the direction that the school was going,” she added.

Faculty who have joined the trips said the events also highlight the Kennedy School’s global reach.

Rana Mitter, an HKS professor who traveled with Weinstein to Singapore and Hong Kong, wrote in a statement that the visits provided insight into how alumni are shaping policy debate across Asia.

“HKS on the Road was a great opportunity to find out more about the lives and achievements of our alumni where they live and work in Asia,” Mitter wrote.

“Asia is now at the heart of the global economic, tech and political story, and seeing how alumni HKS experiences have shaped thinking there was a reminder of how important and positive the work we do has been for so many people in the region and beyond,” he added.

—Staff writer Jen L. Phan can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at jenphan.74. Follow her on X at @jenllphan.