Betsy Myers

A leadership expert, author, and consultant, Betsy Myers is speaking at conferences and workshops around the world on the changing nature of leadership. Her book, Take the Lead: Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You, continues to be the basis of her work as her experience spans the corporate, political and higher education arena.

In May 2011, Myers was appointed Founding Director of the Center for Women & Business at Bentley University. The Center was a repository of best practices for corporate America to recruit and retain women leaders. Myers worked with corporations and shared information about putting these practices into place.

In 2003, Myers served as Executive Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. During her tenure, Myers focused the Center’s teaching and research around authentic inner leadership. The results and impact were immediate and staggering. A strategic educational partnership between Harvard and The Hoffman Institute was developed which continues today. Myers also increased the Center’s efforts around women and leadership while working closely with Harvard’s Women’s Leadership Board.

As senior official in the Clinton Administration, Myers was the President’s senior adviser on women’s issues. As Deputy Assistant to the President, Myers launched and was the first Director of the White House Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach. She played a critical role in Clinton’s re-election effort in 1996 and figured prominently in shaping the Administration’s legislative agenda on issues such as domestic violence, reproductive choice, breast cancer and women in business.

Myers also served as the Associate Deputy Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development in the U.S. Small Business Administration. She implemented the SBA’s national requirements under President Clinton’s Welfare to Work Initiative and was responsible for the agency’s technical assistance, management, and distance learning programs. In a previous post, she served as the Director of the Office of Women’s Business Ownership at the SBA where she was an advocate for the 9.4 million women entrepreneurs in our country.

Myers serves on the Council of National Advisors of Springboard Enterprises, a national not-for-profit organization that educates, coaches and supports high growth women-led businesses that are seeking venture capital for expansion.

Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Myers spent six years building Myers Insurance & Financial Services based in Los Angeles. She specialized in the small business and the women’s market providing insurance and retirement planning.

A Public Service Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, Myers graduated with a Masters in Public Administration, and then served as the School’s Director of Alumni Programs & External Relations before her role at the Center for Public Leadership.