Kerry Healey, Betsy Fischer Martin Among Finalists for IOP Director

Former Massachusetts lieutenant governor Kerry M. Healey ’82 and former “Meet the Press” executive producer Betsy Fischer Martin have advanced to the final stage of the search for the next director of Harvard’s Institute of Politics, according to people familiar with the process.

Healey’s candidacy was confirmed by three people, while two others said Fischer Martin is also in contention. The people were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the confidential hiring process. Healey and Fischer Martin did not respond to requests for comment.

Senior Advisory Committee member Joe P. Kennedy III said in a Tuesday interview that the advisory board and search committee were conducting “additional interviews” with finalists. Kennedy said he has participated in multiple final interviews with candidates.

The search team winnowed an initial pool of roughly eight contenders to three finalists as of earlier this month, two people said.

Kennedy said students have been involved in the search process, though he did not specify whether they participated in final interviews.

“Those finalists are going through additional interviews with, I’m sure, others, and members of the senior advisory committee,” Kennedy said. “And then ultimately, it’ll be the dean’s decision.”

Current interim directors Ned C. Price and Beth E. Myers are expected to step down at the end of the academic year, clearing the way for a permanent director to take over. Both have said they will not seek the role permanently, though one person said the two could remain involved with the IOP in advisory roles.

The search committee includes HKS staff, former IOP fellows, and Shorenstein Center director Nancy R. Gibbs, the only faculty member on the committee. The final decision will rest with HKS Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein.

A Harvard Kennedy School spokesperson declined to confirm the details of the search, citing a policy against commenting on hiring processes. The spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether Price and Myers will remain on staff.

“We’ve been honored to receive enormous interest in the position from a wide range of talented and prominent individuals, and conversations are ongoing,” the spokesperson said.

Both Healey and Fischer Martin are former IOP fellows. Healey served as a fellow in spring 2007, while Fischer Martin came to Harvard in fall 2023.

A sitting member of Congress was also in the running, according to a person familiar with the process. The Crimson could not confirm who else has been interviewed for the job.

Healey, a Republican, served as lieutenant governor under former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney from 2003 to 2007. Since leaving state government, she has served as president of Babson College and director of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, a nonpartisan economic policy think tank. She is also the executive chair of the Forward Party, a centrist third party co-founded by Andrew Yang, and helped launch the party’s Massachusetts chapter in 2024.

Though Healey’s fellowship was nearly two decades ago, she remains connected to Harvard through the Belfer Center, where she sits on the international council.

Healey also has ties to the IOP’s interim leadership. Myers was a longtime senior adviser to Romney, serving as chief of staff in the governor’s office before managing his unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid.

Fischer Martin, a longtime journalist, spent more than two decades at NBC News, where she rose to executive producer of “Meet the Press” and oversaw the program for 11 years. She left NBC in 2013 and later served as a contributor at Washingtonian magazine.

She currently serves as executive director of American University’s Women & Politics Institute, a center that trains women for political leadership and conducts research on gender and politics.

The IOP has often turned to figures with experience in electoral politics or public service to lead the institution. Though neither Price nor Myers has held elected office, their predecessor, Setti D. Warren, was the former mayor of Newton and a one-time candidate for Massachusetts governor. Warren was preceded by Mark Gearan, a senior official in the Clinton administration.

—Staff writer Sophia E. Alcacer can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at sophiaalcacer.88. Follow her on X at @sophiaalcacer.

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

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at elisespenner.82. Follow her on X @EliseSpenner.