Colleen Shogan, PhD

Historian & civics leader

Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, currently CEO of In Pursuit, served as the 11th Archivist of the United States, the first woman appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to lead the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). A noted author and political scientist committed to civics education, she prioritized expanding public access to NARA’s records and led numerous strategic initiatives to enhance services and make its holdings more accessible, both in person and online, in support of public participation and American democracy. Prior to becoming Archivist, Colleen held several cultural heritage leadership roles: Senior Vice President and Director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association, positions in the U.S. Senate, and senior executive roles at the Library of Congress and its Congressional Research Service. She was Vice Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the United States Capitol Historical Society and the Board of Advisers for Historiq, a company combining technology and archival tools to improve public access.

Today, in addition to her role at More Perfect and In Pursuit, Colleen is a Senior Fellow in Civics Education at Stand Together and an Adjunct Professor of Government at Georgetown University. A native of the Pittsburgh area, she holds a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and a Ph.D. in American Politics from Yale University, where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. She is the 2024 recipient of the American Political Science Association’s Hubert Humphrey Award for outstanding public service.