The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) has named Betsy Fischer Martin the new director of the Institute of Politics (IOP), the school announced on Monday. The Emmy-winning broadcast journalist will succeed interim co-directors Beth Myers and Ned Price, beginning in August.
As a reporter and media executive, Fischer Martin spent more than two decades with NBC News. At the network, she covered six presidential campaigns, served as the longtime executive producer of Meet the Press hosted by Tim Russert, and was later the managing editor of political programming.
Since 2018, Fischer Martin has been the executive director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University, where she also taught courses on political campaigns and communication. She was an IOP resident fellow in the fall of 2023.
“Betsy is exactly the right leader to chart the IOP’s future, with the vision, experience, network, and care for students that this moment demands,” HKS Dean Jeremy Weinstein said in a statement. “She comes to the IOP having spent a career at the pinnacle of political coverage, and brings rigor, incredible insight, and a demonstrated track record of fostering the most important political conversations across party lines.”
In the announcement, Fischer Martin’s appointment was endorsed by past leaders from both major political parties, including former House Speakers Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi.
Fischer Martin “has spent her career bringing together people from across the political spectrum to have substantive conversations about the future of this country—exactly what the IOP is built to do,” Ryan said. “I know students will benefit from Betsy’s passion, vision, and know-how as they pursue meaningful vocations in politics and public service. America needs the next generation to lead and offer serious solutions to our country’s challenges—and Betsy is exactly the person to ensure they meet this moment.”
Founded in 1966, the IOP was created with the goal of encouraging and enabling students to pursue careers in public service and allowing a wide range of opportunities to engage with politicians, policymakers, activists, journalists, and academics across the political spectrum.
“The Institute of Politics has a sixty-year legacy of turning students into leaders, and I am honored to help write its next chapter,” Martin said in a statement. “Democracy depends on people willing to step into public life, and the IOP’s job is to inspire the next generation to be ready and eager to do exactly that.”
