Archivist of the United States

Colleen Shogan

Dr. Colleen J. Shogan is the 11th Archivist of the United States. She was sworn in on May 17, 2023, and is the first woman appointed to lead the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).    

As the nation’s record keeper, Dr. Shogan is responsible for preserving, protecting, and sharing the history of the United States. A noted author and political scientist, Dr. Shogan is deeply committed to civic education and public engagement, and she has made it a priority to expand the reach of the National Archives to a wider audience. Under her leadership, NARA has launched a number of initiatives to enhance services and make its holdings more accessible, both in-person and online, with the goal of cultivating public participation and strengthening our nation's democracy.

With the U.S. government’s transition to electronic record keeping, Dr. Shogan is also driving a digital renaissance for the National Archives. NARA is leveraging artificial intelligence and other advanced technology to enhance preservation efforts, streamline internal processes, and unlock public access to the billions of stories preserved in its holdings. 

Prior to becoming Archivist, Dr. Shogan served in a number of cultural heritage leadership roles. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President and Director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association. She also worked in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress and its Congressional Research Service. 

Dr. Shogan served as the Vice Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and the Chair of the Board of Directors at the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation. She taught at Georgetown and George Mason University. She has also moderated seminars for the Aspen Institute. She is the previous President of the National Capital Area Political Science Association and served on the American Political Science Association Council, the governing body of the organization. In 2024, Dr. Shogan received the Hubert H. Humphrey Award from the American Political Science Association, honoring her public service. 

A native of the Pittsburgh area, Dr. Shogan holds a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and a Ph.D. in American Politics from Yale University, where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. Her research focuses on the American presidency, presidential rhetoric, women in politics, and Congress. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Order of the Cross and Crown, and the Washington, D.C. Literary Society.