U.S. News Media Group and Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership Announce America's Best Leaders for 2009

U.S. News Media Group and Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public
Leadership Announce America's Best Leaders for 2009
--As America faces unique challenges, U.S. News and CPL highlight
extraordinary leaders--

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News Media Group, in association with
the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at Harvard Kennedy School, today
released the 2009 edition of America's Best Leaders, available online at
www.usnews.com/leaders and featured in the November, 2009, issue of U.S.News &
World Report magazine, on newsstands Tuesday, October 27.

Featuring 22 of the country's most exemplary individuals, the fifth annual
Best Leaders issue honors a select group of men and women from a variety of
fields including business, public service, education, and arts. These
inspiring professionals have contributed to industry advancements with their
innovation and achievements, and through their advocacy, service, activism,
and philanthropy, have dedicated their careers to improving the everyday lives
of people across the globe.

"The country has faced exceptional challenges in the past year," said Brian
Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report. "With our Best Leaders issue, we
focused on individuals from a range of industries who have demonstrated
unwavering leadership and a commitment to finding solutions in this difficult
time."

U.S. News Media Group's nomination of America's Best Leaders features 22 of
the country's foremost professionals, including:

-- Ben Bernanke, Chairman, The Federal Reserve Board (Washington, D.C.)
-- Cory Booker, Mayor, City of Newark (Newark, NJ)
-- John Chambers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cisco Systems,
Inc.
(San Jose, CA)
-- Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia Inc. (Ventura, CA)
-- John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (Menlo Park, CA)
-- Cheryl Dorsey, President, Echoing Green (New York, NY)
-- Eve Ensler, Founder and Artistic Director, President, Board of
Directors, V-DAY (New York, NY)
-- Norman Francis, President, Xavier University of Louisiana (New
Orleans,
LA)
-- Orrin G. Hatch, United States Senate (Washington, DC) and Edward
Kennedy
(1932-2009), Former United States Senator
-- Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(Cambridge, MA)
-- Kathleen Magee, Co-Founder and President, Operation Smile and William
Magee Jr., D.D.S., M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
Operation Smile (Norfolk, VA)
-- Greg Mortenson, Executive Director, Central Asia Institute (Bozeman,
MT)
-- Ray Odierno, Commanding General, Multi-National Force, Iraq, United
States Army (The Pentagon, Washington, DC))
-- Senior Noncommissioned Officers, United States Military (The Pentagon,
Washington, DC)
-- Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Core
(Chicago, IL)
-- Sally Ride, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sally Ride Science
(San Diego, CA)
-- David Robinson, Founder, The Carver Academy (San Antonio, TX)
-- Judith Rodin, President, The Rockefeller Foundation (New York, NY)
-- James Sinegal, President and Chief Executive Officer, Costco Wholesale
Corporation (Issaquah, WA)

-- Twyla Tharp, Founder and Artistic Director, Twyla Tharp Productions
(New
York, NY)

"America's Best Leaders are constantly working to solve society's biggest
problems," said Kelly.
"Whether they are developing ways to be more environmentally sustainable,
reviving a city, building schools in war zones, or bringing the economy back
from the brink, these leaders are making a positive impact with creativity and
innovation."

As America's Best Leaders continue to demonstrate strong leadership in diverse
fields, CPL's 2009 National Leadership Index, which annually measures public
confidence in leadership, indicates that Americans' overall confidence in
leadership increased in 2009 over 2008 levels. However, a majority of
Americans still perceive a crisis in the nation's leadership, and overall
confidence has not returned to 2005 levels, when the survey began.

The 2009 National Leadership Index will be released by CPL on November 2,
available online at www.hks.harvard.edu/leadership.

In a collaborative effort between U.S. News and Harvard's CPL, the leaders
were selected by a nonpartisan and independent committee, convened and
organized by the Center, without the participation of U.S. News editors. The
selection criteria used by the committee in choosing the honorees included the
ability to set direction, achieve results, and cultivate a culture of growth.

About the Center for Public Leadership
Established in 2000 through a generous gift from the Wexner Foundation, the
Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School provides cutting-edge
teaching and research as well as hands-on training in the skills of leadership
for people in government, nonprofits, and business. For more information, go
to: www.hks.harvard.edu/leadership

About the U.S. News Media Group
The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform digital publisher of news and
analysis, which includes the monthly U.S. News & World Report magazine, the
digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and
www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money & Business, Education,
and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation
as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the
quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group's signature
franchises include its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its
"America's Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges,
graduate schools, hospitals, health plans, and more.

SOURCE U.S. News Media Group

Media: Liz Putze, U.S.News & World Report, +1-202-955-2136, pr@usnews.com