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Wendy Sherman  

Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership & Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School

Wendy Sherman is an American diplomat who served as the United States deputy secretary of state from April 2021 to July 2023. She was a professor of the practice of public leadership and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, a senior counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group, and a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Sherman, a social worker, served as the director of EMILY's List, the director of Maryland's office of child welfare, and the founding president of the Fannie Mae Foundation. During the Clinton administration, she served as counselor of the United States Department of State from 1997 to 2001. She was also a special advisor to President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the North Korea policy coordinator. In the latter role, she was instrumental in negotiations related to North Korea's nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs.

Sherman served under Hillary Clinton and John Kerry as under secretary of state for political affairs from 2011 to 2015. She was the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. Department of State. In that role, Sherman was the lead negotiator for the Iran nuclear deal. After winning the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden nominated Sherman to serve as United States Deputy Secretary of State, under Antony Blinken.

Speech Topics

Point/Counterpoint - Israel, Iran and the Middle Eas

Ambassador Wendy Sherman, lead negotiator on the recently reached Iran deal, and named by The Jerusalem Post as the fourth most influential Jew in the world, sizes up the U.S. relationship with Israel, Iran and the Middle East in a point/counterpoint with another panelist.

Shattering Glass and Leaning Forward – Senators, Secretaries of State, Business CEOs – I’ve Had It All and So Can You

Throughout her career, Wendy Sherman has demonstrated a knack for shattering both glass ceilings and stereotypes. She had a front row seat working on the campaign for Barbara Mikulski, the first Democratic female elected to the Senate, and helped secure and advise Madeleine Albright as the first female secretary of state. Having started her own business as well as having a successful family life, Sherman looks to speak to the leaders of tomorrow to help inspire and motivate you with the secrets to her successes, both personal and professional.

Risk Management: Changing Geopolitics and What It Means for Investment

In her experience, not only as U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs but also as the owner of a successful global business consulting firm, Ambassador Wendy Sherman is in a unique position to offer advice about a myriad of topics that affect the world business scene today. Having sat on the investment committee of a boutique emerging markets fund, Sherman offers an insider’s guide to investment risk wherever you are in the world.

Where In the World are We Headed?: An Inside Guide to Geopolitics and What It Means for Your Business

As U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, Ambassador Wendy Sherman became responsible for overseeing the United States’ diplomacy in every region of the world during her time at the State Department from 2011–2015. Sherman is able to offer a unique insider’s view of where the world is headed in the years ahead and how that will affect global business.

Negotiating Change: What Businesses Can Learn from Complex International Negotiations

Wendy Sherman, the successful lead negotiator for the multilateral, complex deal with Iran, reveals strategies and tactics from her years of high-level international diplomacy that can help you achieve successful outcomes in business negotiations in a global economy and marketplace.

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