The Yale School of Public Health is proud to announce that Sylvia Mathews Burwell will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 YSPH Commencement ceremony, to be held on Monday, May 18th. A distinguished leader across government, philanthropy, and higher education, Burwell brings to this occasion a career defined by consequential decision-making at the highest levels of public life.
Burwell has held two positions in the President's Cabinet, serving as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) under President Barack Obama. As HHS Secretary from 2014 to 2017, she led the agency through the Ebola epidemic and Zika outbreak and was responsible for implementing, defending, and managing the Affordable Care Act. Her Senate confirmation as HHS Secretary was notably bipartisan, reflecting the breadth of respect she commands across the aisle.
Before her Cabinet service, Burwell built an equally impressive record in philanthropy. She held leadership positions at two of the world's largest foundations: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as chief operating officer and president of the global development program, and the Walmart Foundation, as president focusing on philanthropy aimed at hunger relief and economic opportunity. These roles deepened her conviction that lasting health and social progress require sustained investment, rigorous evidence, and partnership across sectors.
Burwell subsequently became the 15th president of American University, and the first woman to serve as the university's president. She led efforts to more than double research funding, reinvent the student experience, and grow the university’s endowment. She will join the Harvard Corporation in July after her term as president of the Harvard University Board of Overseers expires in May.
Burwell earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from Harvard University and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Her academic focus — rigorous, and deeply interdisciplinary — mirrors the values YSPH instills in its own graduates.
Burwell's career shows what linking science and society looks like in practice: whether stewarding federal agencies through public health emergencies or transforming higher education for the good of all, she has consistently modeled what it means to translate expertise into action.
Also, we are pleased to announce that Shelley Diehl Geballe, JD ’76, MPH ’95, professor in the practice (health policy) will serve as faculty marshal for the 2026 YSPH Commencement. Her two-plus decades on the YSPH faculty and her direction of the Health Policy Practicum place her at the heart of our school’s commitment to educate future generations of public health leaders. As faculty marshal, Geballe will carry the school’s new ceremonial mace. The design of the mace incorporates deep historical symbolism and celebrates the school’s history, vision, and mission, as well as its status as Yale’s newest independent school.
More detailed information about graduation and the various ceremonies will be shared in the coming weeks. We look forward to celebrating the Yale School of Public Health Class of 2026 with you.