posted 10-23-2009 03:00 AM               

U.S. News Media Group and Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership Announce America's Best Leaders for 2009

U.S. News Media Group, in association with the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at Harvard Kennedy School, today released the 2009 edition of America's Best Leaders, available online and featured in the November, 2009, issue of U.S. News & World Report magazine, on newsstands Tuesday, October 27.

Featuring 22 of the country's most exemplary individuals, the fifth annual Best Leaders issue honors a select group of men and women from a variety of fields including business, public service, education, and arts. These inspiring professionals have contributed to industry advancements with their innovation and achievements, and through their advocacy, service, activism, and philanthropy, have dedicated their careers to improving the everyday lives of people across the globe.

"The country has faced exceptional challenges in the past year," said Brian Kelly, editor of U.S. News & World Report. "With our Best Leaders issue, we focused on individuals from a range of industries who have demonstrated unwavering leadership and a commitment to finding solutions in this difficult time."

U.S. News Media Group's nomination of America's Best Leaders features 22 of the country's foremost professionals, including:

• Ben Bernanke, Chairman, The Federal Reserve Board (Washington, D.C.)
  
• Cory Booker, Mayor, City of Newark (Newark, NJ)
  
• John Chambers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cisco Systems, Inc. (San Jose, CA)
  
• Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia Inc. (Ventura, CA)
  
• John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (Menlo Park, CA)
  
• Cheryl Dorsey, President, Echoing Green (New York, NY)
  
• Eve Ensler, Founder and Artistic Director, President, Board of Directors, V-DAY (New York, NY)
  
• Norman Francis, President, Xavier University of Louisiana (New Orleans, LA)
  
• Orrin G. Hatch, United States Senate (Washington, DC) and Edward Kennedy (1932-2009), Former United States Senator
  
• Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
  
• Kathleen Magee, Co-Founder and President, Operation Smile and William Magee Jr., D.D.S., M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Operation Smile (Norfolk, VA)
  
• Greg Mortenson, Executive Director, Central Asia Institute (Bozeman, MT)
  
• Ray Odierno, Commanding General, Multi-National Force, Iraq, United States Army (The Pentagon, Washington, DC))
  
• Senior Noncommissioned Officers, United States Military (The Pentagon, Washington, DC)
  
• Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Core (Chicago, IL)
  
• Sally Ride, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sally Ride Science (San Diego, CA)
  
• David Robinson, Founder, The Carver Academy (San Antonio, TX)
  
• Judith Rodin, President, The Rockefeller Foundation (New York, NY)
  
• James Sinegal, President and Chief Executive Officer, Costco Wholesale Corporation (Issaquah, WA)
  
• Twyla Tharp, Founder and Artistic Director, Twyla Tharp Productions
  (New York, NY)

"America's Best Leaders are constantly working to solve society's biggest problems," said Kelly. "Whether they are developing ways to be more environmentally sustainable, reviving a city, building schools in war zones, or bringing the economy back from the brink, these leaders are making a positive impact with creativity and innovation."

As America's Best Leaders continue to demonstrate strong leadership in diverse fields, CPL's 2009 National Leadership Index, which annually measures public confidence in leadership, indicates that Americans' overall confidence in leadership increased in 2009 over 2008 levels. However, a majority of Americans still perceive a crisis in the nation's leadership, and overall confidence has not returned to 2005 levels, when the survey began.

The 2009 National Leadership Index will be released by CPL on November 2, available online.

In a collaborative effort between U.S. News and Harvard's CPL, the leaders were selected by a nonpartisan and independent committee, convened and organized by the Center, without the participation of U.S. News editors. The selection criteria used by the committee in choosing the honorees included the ability to set direction, achieve results, and cultivate a culture of growth.