Sylvia Mathews Burwell

Sylvia Mathews Burwell served as the 22nd Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she managed the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and led departmental responses to the Ebola and Zika outbreaks. She was the 15th president of American University from 2017 to June 2024, the first woman in that role. During her tenure at AU, she increased research funding, achieved carbon-neutrality, and grew the endowment by more than 40 percent.