News
Cherie Harder Named President of The Trinity Forum
Cherie Harder has been named President of The Trinity Forum. Ms. Harder joins the nonprofit leadership academy from the White House, where she has served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Policy and Projects for First Lady Laura Bush. She will assume her new responsibilities on March 17, based in the organization’s offices in Georgetown.
Making the announcement Al Sikes, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said that “Cherie Harder’s rich experience and leadership talent are just the right combination for The Trinity Forum. She is perfectly suited to lead an organization that works at the confluence of faith and wisdom.”
Before coming to the First Lady’s office in early 2007, Ms. Harder served as Policy Advisor to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist from 2005 to 2006, where she advised the Leader on domestic social issues and served as liaison and outreach director to outside groups. From 2001 to 2005, she was the Senior Counselor to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), where she helped the Chairman design and launch the NEH and Bush Administration’s “We the People” initiative to enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history. Prior to that Ms. Harder was the Policy Director for Senator Sam Brownback and also served as Deputy Policy Director at Empower America.
Ms. Harder holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University and a post-graduate diploma in literature from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where she was a Rotary Scholar.
Ms. Harder will succeed Executive Director Luder G. Whitlock, Jr., who has led the organization since 2003. The Board has named Dr. Whitlock a Senior Fellow and looks forward to his continued participation in Trinity Forum activities, said Mr. Sikes. Dr. Whitlock’s immediate plans include writing two books and working with Excelsis, an Orlando-based nonprofit.
Mr. Sikes noted that Dr. Whitlock “leaves The Trinity Forum in a healthy condition in every way. We are particularly grateful for his work on organizational stability, expanding the ranks of our Senior Fellows, and beginning our online Provocations journal. He has set the stage for significant growth and we are very excited about our opportunities as we move toward our twentieth anniversary and beyond under the leadership of Cherie Harder.”
- High-resolution photograph of Cherie Harder (JPEG, 588k, 240 dpi)
- Press Release, PDF Format, 48K
- Press Release, DOC Format, 128K
- Additional Biographical Details on Cherie Harder
Feb 2008
