The World's 50 Greatest Leaders

Rank
25
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Carla Hayden

Librarian of Congress
In this April 16, 2015, photo, Carla Hayden, CEO of the Pratt Library, gives a tour of the library's central branch in Baltimore. President Barack Obama on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, has nominated Hayden, the longtime head of Baltimore’s library system, as the next Librarian of Congress. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/The Baltimore Sun via AP) WASHINGTON EXAMINER OUT; MANDATORY CREDITBarbara Haddock Taylor — AP
  • Title
    Nominee
  • Affiliation
    Library of Congress
  • Age
    63

In February, President Obama nominated Hayden to lead the ­Library of Congress. If confirmed, she will be the first woman and the first African American to do so—and fresh leadership for a 216-year-old institution in sore need of a technological upgrade. Hayden knows plenty about sustaining a library as a relevant and inclusive institution. In Baltimore, where she has run the Enoch Pratt Free Library system for 23 years, she has modernized early and often. When violence erupted near one branch last April, Hayden kept it open—a safe, trusted space for community members.