Nancy Gibbs Profile Photo

Nancy Gibbs

Keynote Speaker

Edward R. Murrow Professor and Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School; Former Editor in Chief, TIME Magazine

As the first woman to serve as TIME’s Editor in Chief, Nancy Gibbs is an internationally known commentator on American politics and society who has interviewed five U.S. presidents and reported extensively on the forces reshaping private and public life.

Request Availability

CONTACT WSB FOR Nancy Gibbs'S SPEAKING FEES

Nancy Gibbs Profile Photo

As writer, editor, and ultimately Editor in Chief of one of the world’s most trusted news magazines, Nancy Gibbs has spent more than 30 years exploring the events that shape our social and political life. She was the first woman to hold the position of Editor in Chief at TIME and remains an Editor at Large. She is currently the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice and Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Under her leadership, TIME accelerated its transformation from a weekly print magazine to a global, 24/7 digital news operation. As the most published writer in TIME’s near-100 year history and a bestselling presidential historian, she has developed an unparalleled sense of the changing national conversation.

She is the co-author, with Michael Duffy, of two best-selling presidential histories: The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity (2012), which spent 30 weeks on the New York Times best seller list, and The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House (2007). Her columns now appear in the Washington Post as well as TIME, and she has been a frequent guest on radio and TV news shows, including Meet the Press, CBS This Morning, PBS Newshour, Morning Joe, World News Tonight, This Week, and the Today Show. Politico has called her “The Poet Laureate of Presidents” and the Chicago Tribune named her one of the Top Ten Magazine writers in the country. She has interviewed five U.S. presidents; numerous US political leaders, world leaders, and business leaders.

Gibbs has lectured extensively on the press and the American presidency, including at the Bush, Reagan, Carter, Johnson and Truman libraries, the Aspen Institute, the Dallas World Affairs Club, the Commonwealth Club, the National Archives and Harvard Kennedy School.  Gibbs has shown a unique ability to look beyond our increasingly tribal divisions to explore what we share in common and what that means for our future.

Gibbs has twice served as the Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton, teaching a seminar on politics and the press. In addition to the National Magazine Award, she is a recipient of the Matrix award, the Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Newswomen’s Club of New York, Folio’s Top Women in Media, and numerous other journalism honors.  

Featured Videos

Nancy Gibbs Profile Photo
Nancy Gibbs

Conflict Commands Attention and Attentions Equals Influence

Nancy Gibbs Profile Photo
Nancy Gibbs

The Office of the Presidency Transcends the Individual

Nancy Gibbs Profile Photo
Nancy Gibbs

Celebrating the Day the Glass Ceiling Disappears

Nancy Gibbs’s Speech Topics

  • The Divided States of America; What Pulls Us Apart and How Can We Come Together

    Over these past years, we’ve seen a historic level of division and polarization, affecting everything from politics to commerce to culture to family life. As a longtime journalist, Nancy Gibbs has explored the role played by the press in deepening these divisions and explored new research on ways to mend our civic fabric. The vast majority of Americans dislike the bitter flavor of public life and want to see progress on acute challenges we face; so what steps can we take as citizens, voters, communities, and a country to bridge the divides and move forward together?

  • The Presidents Club

    No one who has not served in the Oval Office can fully understand what the job does to you. That simple truth helps account for the remarkable bond among American Presidents, who belong to the world’s most exclusive fraternity. Behind the scenes, the most unlikely political partners reached out to one another for help with problems no one else could solve: Harry Truman secretly enlisted Herbert Hoover on a post-war mission to save millions of lives; John F. Kennedy turned to Eisenhower after the Bay of Pigs invasion went terribly wrong, and Lyndon Johnson asked Ike to rush to Washington to help him bind the country’s wounds after Kennedy’s assassination. Bill Clinton used to call Richard Nixon late at night for advice. Presidential historian Nancy Gibbs, former Editor in Chief of TIME, is co-author of the bestselling The Presidents Club who has interviewed five US Presidents about their remarkable private relationships. This is an exploration of how the most powerful men in the world put country before party and gave each other the support they needed to do the world’s hardest job.

  • Leading While Female: A Confession and an Invitation

    The evidence grows every day that organizations are more likely to succeed when they have diverse leadership. But what does this mean day to day, especially at a time when gender politics is increasingly visible and complicated? This lecture explores ways of understanding ambition, success, and personal and professional development to empower both men and women in a changing society. It draws on research and lessons learned from people Nancy Gibbs has met, leaders she has covered, and challenges she faced as the first woman to become Editor in Chief of TIME. As the nature of work changes and career paths become much less predictable, this is an opportunity to think creatively about how we balance our gifts, needs, and opportunities in pursuit of success and fulfillment.

REQUEST AVAILABILITY

Tell us about your event and the speaker you are interested in booking and we will be in touch right away.