Madeleine Korbel Albright, recipient of the Dean's Award, served as the 64th secretary of state of the United States. She was the first female secretary of state and is the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. As secretary, Albright reinforced America's alliances, advocated democracy and human rights, and promoted American trade and business, labor and environmental standards abroad. During her tenure, Albright expanded and modernized NATO and led NATO's successful campaign to reverse ethnic cleansing in Kosovo; promoted peace in the Balkans; expanded democracy in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America; and further opened trade through the conclusion of hundreds of agreements that facilitated American business overseas. Albright is the founder of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm. Her autobiography, "Madam Secretary: A Memoir," was published in September 2003.
Marge Anderson is the first woman elected as chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Under her leadership between 1991 and 2000, the band used casino revenues to strengthen its culture and rebuild its reservation. She was at the forefront of a nationwide effort to strengthen and improve relations between tribal governments and the federal government of the United States. Anderson aggressively pushed for designation of the Mille Lacs Band as one of seven tribes in the country to participate in a self-governance demonstration project that placed control of federal funds allocated for India people in the hands of tribes. This successful pilot project was made permanent in 1994. Anderson improved the physical as well as the economic health of the band by developing the Circle of Health Plan to provide universal coverage to band members and their families, regardless of where they reside. In 1997 Anderson took a lead role in a successful nine-year court battle with the State of Minnesota over the 1837 Tribal Rights Case, which went all the way to the Supreme Court. Among many honors, Anderson was named Tribal Leader of the Year by the National Congress of American Indians (1997), one of the 100 most influential Minnesotans of the 20th century by the StarTribune (1999), and one of Minnesota Lifetime Achievement Women by the Minnesota Women's Political Caucus (2003).
Nathan Garvis is vice president of government affairs for Target Corp., one of the largest retail companies in the United States. He is responsible for legislative and regulatory affairs at the federal, state and local levels of government. He serves on a number of industry-related boards, as well as the boards of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the Citizens League and the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum Advisory Board. Among the many policy initiatives he has championed is CriMNet, an integrated, statewide computer tracking system for known criminals. Respected for his ability to work across parties and successfully bridge the public and private sectors, Garvis will take his advocacy skills to the national level in October when he assumes the chairmanship of the Washington, D.C.-based Public Affairs Council.
Judge Gerald W. Heaney of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth District is a noted jurist who has spent his legal career protecting the rights of children, the disadvantaged, minorities and working people. A cherished friend of Hubert Humphrey, Heaney is a founding father of the public affairs institute that bears his friend's name. In addition to counseling Humphrey, over the years Heaney has provided advice to such political leaders as Sen. Eugene McCarthy, former Vice-President Walter F. Mondale, and Governors Orville Freeman and Karl Rolvaag. A passionate champion of northeastern Minnesota, the judge served as a regent for the University of Minnesota and was the driving force behind the establishment of the Duluth campus as part of the university system. As a result of his World War II service, he earned the Presidential Unit Citation, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and five battle stars.
