Kimberlyn Leary Joins New America as Senior Fellow and Senior Advisor, Political Reform and Civic Engagement

New America is honored to announce the appointment of Kimberlyn Leary as Senior Fellow and Senior Advisor, Political Reform and Civic Engagement, effective January 11. With an impressive background and portfolio of experience stemming from decades in public policy, academia, and government, Leary currently serves as Urban Institute’s Executive Vice President, where she works to enhance Urban’s impact and forge new partnerships. Previously, Leary was Urban’s senior vice president for research management and program development.

At New America, Leary will support thematic work focused on democratic futures and collaborate with scholar colleagues on government reform initiatives, including community-driven governance to ensure more equitable outcomes. Leary will also advise the organization on equity-focused work, including identifying existing and potential areas of alignment and integration for equity in the context of New America’s democracy work and advancing equitable policy-making and implementation. Notably, Leary will also advise New America on potential initiatives supporting women and girls. Previously, she served as a Fellow with New America’s Future Security program and partnered with New America's Political Reform team on initiatives to advance inclusive and equitable policy.

Leary holds academic roles at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. She will join the faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School during the 2025 to 2026 academic year. At McLean Hospital (Harvard Medical School), she was the first Executive Director of the Center of Excellence in Women's Mental Health and chief psychologist at Cambridge Health Alliance. Leary began her career at the University of Michigan.

Leary has advised the White House under President Obama and President Biden. She was an adviser to the Obama White House Council on Women and Girls and a senior policy adviser to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. During the Biden-Harris transition, Leary was a part-time volunteer member on the agency review team for that office. At the Biden White House, on a temporary assignment from Urban, she was the first senior equity fellow at the Office of Management and Budget and a senior policy adviser to the Domestic Policy Council.

Additionally, Leary’s work as a scholar, practitioner, and educator focuses on government innovation, adaptive leadership, cross-boundary collaboration, and equity. She holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School and a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. She also has advanced training as a psychoanalyst from the Michigan Psychoanalytic Association.

About New America: We are dedicated to renewing the promise of America, bringing us closer to our nation’s highest ideals. We’re a different kind of think tank: one dedicated to public problem-solving. Our team of visionary researchers, changemakers, technologists, and storytellers study and seize the opportunities presented by dramatic social and technological change. We search for powerful ideas, wherever they are, and collaborate with civic innovators around the country to develop evidence-based solutions.