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America's Best Leaders - US News and World Report

America's Best Leaders

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Robert Gates

Secretary of Defense
Pentagon chief looks for uses of "soft power" in a hard power world.

Fiona Harrison & Maria Zuber

NASA scientists
The first two women to head their own NASA robotic space missions.

Freeman Hrabowski

University of Maryland-Baltimore County
He helped turn a no-name commuter college into a center for math and science.

Amory Lovins

Rocky Mountain Institute
For this bright light in the field of alternative energy, it's all about efficiency.

Anne Mulcahy

Xerox
In reforming a troubled company, she had the courage to say "No" to Wall Street.

Indra Nooyi

PepsiCo
Karaoke-singing chief executive is taking Pepsi in an unlikely direction--toward healthful foods.

Linda Rottenberg

Endeavor
Her nonprofit seeks to build profitable small businesses on a global scale.

Jeffrey Sachs

United Nations Millennium Project
An academic who looks for real-world ways to beat global poverty.

Steven Spielberg

Filmmaker
He addresses important issues on the big screen and through his philanthropy.

Michael Tilson Thomas

San Francisco Symphony
A maverick maestro is winning big crowds of new classical music fans.

U.S. Junior Officers

Military
They are rising in the military ranks with a hard-earned wisdom forged by war.

 

A New Leadership Style For America

Joseph S. Nye Jr.: It's time to retire the "big man," heroic warrior model of leadership.

Women Have Made Strides in Security

Paula Broadwell, Deepti Choubey, and Laura Holgate: There's still a long way to go.

David Gergen: Obama Is a Leader of Great Potential but Can’t Do It Alone

These leaders are the kind of people who can help him lead us out of our doldrums.

Lance Armstrong

Cyclist and Advocate
Making tireless efforts on behalf of cancer survivors like himself.

David Baltimore

California Institute of Technology
This Nobel-winning scientist leads with "a little bit of chutzpah."

Regina Benjamin

Le Batre Rural Health Clinic
She believes that living in a tiny rural town shouldn't mean giving up big-city healthcare.

Jeff Bezos

Amazon.com
The founder of the massive online retailer is a true Internet pioneer.

Terence Blanchard & Herbie Hancock

Thelonious Monk Institute
Their Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz brings music education to public schools.

Benjamin Carson

Johns Hopkins Hospital
A talented pediatric neurosurgeon and activist for inner-city kids.

Manny Diaz

Mayor of Miami
A son of Cuban immigrants, Diaz leads one of the nation's major multicultural cities.

Marian Wright Edelman

Children's Defense Fund
A civil rights pioneer and crusader on behalf of children.

Anthony Fauci

National Institute of Allergies & Infectious Diseases
A leader on HIV/AIDS and a straight talker on key health issues.

Mike Feinberg & Dave Levin

Knowledge Is Power Program
Raising educational expectations in underserved communities.

Opinion

Financial Crisis Kills Trust in Leaders

Bill George: We must do more than fix the crisis; let's fix the mindset that caused it.

Obama and American Followership

Barbara Kellerman: At this moment in history, diffusion of power overwhelms leadership.

PHOTO CREDITS: Lance Armstrong: Beatrice De Gea/ The New York Times/Redux; David Baltimore: Manjunath Kiran/EPA/Corbis; Regina Benjamin: Charlie Archambault for USN≀ Jeff Bezos: Brian Smale/Redux; Terence Blanchard: David Butow/Redux for USN≀ Benjamin Carson: Gurinder Osan/AP; Manny Diaz: Paul Sancya/AP; Marian Wright Edelman: Jeffrey MacMillan for USN≀ Anthony Fauci: Charlie Archambault for USN≀ Mike Feinberg: Kevin Horan/Aurora for USN≀ Robert Gates: Jeffrey MacMillan for USN≀ Herbie Hancock: David Butow/Redux for USN≀ Fiona Harrison: David Butow--Redux for USN≀ Freeman Hrabowski: Jeffrey MacMillan for USN≀ Indra Nooyi: Neville Elder/Corbis; Dave Levin: Jim Lo Scalzo for USN≀ Amory Lovins: Ben Stechschulte/Redux; Anne Mulcahy: Ben Baker/Redux; Linda Rottenberg: Peter Dejong/AP; Jeffrey Sachs: Chip East/Reuters; Steven Spielberg: Steven Henry/Getty Images; Michael Tilson Thomas: Chris Gordon/Getty Images; U.S. junior officers serving in war zones: Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Maria Zuber: Bill Ingalls/NASA

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Choosing America's Best Leaders 2008

America's Best Leaders is a collaboration between U.S.News & World Report and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Leaders?

How much do you know about
U.S. News's Best Leaders of 2008? Find out.

Washington Whispers

Tea Party IRS Rally About More Than Tax Man

Tea partiers at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday expressed frustration with nearly a dozen government agencies.

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