Notable alumni
White House Fellows have carried their experience into public service, scholarship, medicine, business and community life. Explore alumni whose careers reflect the many ways to serve.
Leadership and public serviceWhite House Fellows
“When you leave Washington, you can [be] the ones to go out and plant the ideas and plow the furrows that point to the future; that can awaken and unite our Americans in a new community of splendor with high, noble purposes. You are relevant. We do care about you. You are needed.”
This selection introduces some of the program's alumni. Explore the White House Fellows Foundation and Association for the wider alumni community.
Medicine and health policy
A physician who served as a White House Fellow in the White House Office of American Innovation and later became Deputy Assistant to the President for the Domestic Policy Council.
White House Appoints 2019-2020 Class of White House Fellows – The White HouseMilitary and national security
Currently serves as the 22nd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer.
Joint Chiefs of Staff biographyMilitary and elected public service
Elected to represent Alaska in the United States Senate since 2014. Prior to his election, he served various leadership roles in the state and military.
U.S. Senate biographyInternational relations and elected public service
Currently serves as U.S. Senator from Tennessee, following his role as U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
U.S. Senate biographyDiplomacy and national service
Served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and became the first African American Secretary of State, following a 35-year Army career.
U.S. Department of State biographyGovernment and public policy
Appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Labor and U.S. Secretary of Transportation. As Secretary of Labor, she became the first Asian American woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet.
Elaine Chao’s WebsiteHistory and writing
Won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in History for No Ordinary Time , her account of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the American home front during World War II.
The Pulitzer Prizes profile
Portrait: Amanda Sealy (Asealy77). CC BY-SA 4.0 Source portrait crop; resized.
Medicine and journalism
Combined neurosurgery with medical journalism, reporting for CNN and providing surgical care while embedded with a U.S. Navy medical unit in Iraq.
CNN profileAviation and military leadership
Became the first woman to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. She later commanded the 333rd Fighter Squadron.
Nicole Malachowski’s WebsiteBusiness and philanthropy
Led Levi Strauss & Co. as chief executive from 1984 to 1999. With his wife, Colleen, he endowed undergraduate research opportunities at UC Berkeley.
UC Berkeley profileNonprofit and community leadership
After serving as a Navy Rear Admiral, she led Girl Scouts of the USA and the American Red Cross, extending a career of service into national nonprofit leadership.
White House archive: leadership awardLocal leadership and public policy
Served four terms as mayor of San Antonio before becoming U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development biographyMilitary service and international security
Served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe after a career in the U.S. Army.
White House archived biographyPublic service and economic opportunity
Became Maryland’s first Black Governor after leading the Robin Hood Foundation. His work has also included military service, writing, and a business supporting underserved college students.
State of Maryland biographyEducation and military leadership
Served as President of the National Defense University and the Naval Postgraduate School following her retirement as a Vice Admiral.
Naval Postgraduate School biography (PDF)Public policy and international cooperation
Represented Colorado in the U.S. House and Senate, served in the Department of State, and became president of the United Nations Foundation.
U.S. Congress biographical directoryEngineering and technology leadership
Led DARPA’s Special Projects Office and later served as chief technology officer at SAIC. Her career connects aerospace engineering, national research programs, and private-sector technology.
Howmet Aerospace career biographyScience and invention
Pioneered liquid-crystal display technology at RCA and later directed DARPA. His work connected fundamental electronics research with technologies used in everyday devices and national defense.
Optica scientific biographyBusiness and communications
Became the first woman selected as a White House Fellow and IBM’s second female vice president. She later chaired NBC’s Board of Directors.
IBM historical profileJournalism and public communication
Led CNN and the Los Angeles Times as chief executive officer after serving in the first class of White House Fellows. His Fellowship launched a series of roles on President Lyndon Johnson’s staff.
LBJ Presidential Library profileMilitary leadership
Served as the Commander, United States Marine Corps Forces Command; Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, and Commander, Marine Corps Forces North.
Marine Forces Command biography
Portrait: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ford Williams / U.S. Navy.
Naval service and public leadership
Served as the 78th Secretary of the Navy after a naval career that included commanding USS Bulkeley and a subsequent career in technology and business.
Department of Defense biographyNaval command and strategy
A retired Admiral who commanded U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples, following fleet and joint staff assignments.
U.S. Navy biographyNational security and diplomacy
An Air Force officer and Rhodes Scholar who led Air Force Global Strike Command and served in nuclear policy, arms control and diplomatic assignments.
U.S. Air Force biographyClass photographs
Each year's Fellows gather for a class photograph. Move the slider to find a class, or step through the years one at a time.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
