Setti Warren

Harvard Kennedy School

Setti D. Warren served as Mayor of Newton, Massachusetts from January 1, 2010 to January 1 2018. He was the first African-American to be a popularly-elected mayor in Massachusetts. After graduating from Boston College, he began an extensive career in public service, serving as special assistant in the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs for President Bill Clinton; as New England director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and as deputy state director for Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA).

Prior to running for mayor, Mayor Warren completed a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq as a naval intelligence specialist. He served on the advisory board of the United States Conference of Mayors, chairing the organization's community housing and development committee. Warren was also a life member of The Council on Foreign Relations and a board member of Discovering Justice.

He served as the Executive Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and then at the Institute of Politics, both at the Harvard Kennedy School, until his untimely death in November 2025.