Hon. Setti Warren

Setti D. Warren is the executive director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to this role, he served as the executive director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. He previously served as Mayor of Newton, Massachusetts from 2010 to 2018 and was the first African American to be a popularly elected mayor in Massachusetts. Warren has had an extensive career in public service, serving as special assistant in the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs for President Bill Clinton; as New England director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and as deputy state director for Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA). Prior to running for mayor, Warren completed a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq as a naval intelligence specialist. He served on the advisory board of the United States Conference of Mayors, chairing the organization’s community housing and development committee, and is currently a life member of The Council on Foreign Relations. Warren received his B.A. from Boston College and J.D. Suffolk University Law School.