Leslie Kirwan

Leslie Kirwan is the retired dean for administration and finance for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) at Harvard University. Ms. Kirwan joined Harvard in 2009 and oversaw FAS administrative functions and directly led FAS Finance, Human Resources, Research Administration, Facilities, Physical Resources and Planning, Diversity, and Media and Technology Services. Prior to joining Harvard, Ms. Kirwan served as the secretary of administration and finance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2009. In that role, Ms. Kirwan served as a member of Governor’s Deval Patrick’s cabinet, and was responsible for executing key finance and administrative duties including preparation of the Governor’s budget recommendation, development of a state capital budget, monitoring and management of financial activities across state government, and the development and analysis of fiscal policy. She also oversaw the activities of more than 2,500 state employees in agencies and divisions ranging from the Department of Revenue to the Divisions of Human Resources and Information Technology, and chaired the Health Connector Authority which oversees Massachusetts healthcare reform. Before being tapped by Governor Patrick, Ms. Kirwan served in other administration and finance leadership roles in the Commonwealth and at the Massachusetts Port Authority for over 20 years.

Ms. Kirwan received an A.B. from Harvard College and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.