2025

Speakers

Meroë Park

Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, Smithsonian Institution

Meroë (pronounced muh-ROY) Park is the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Smithsonian. She oversees most of the Smithsonian’s day-to-day activities across its museums, research centers, and education organizations, as well as many administrative and support functions. She also works with the Secretary to implement his vision, overseeing major strategic initiatives and programs.

Previously, Park was the executive vice president of the Partnership for Public Service in Washington, DC, where she led programs dedicated to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the federal government. Before that, she was the former executive director/chief operating officer of the CIA. Over the course of her 27-year career at the CIA (1989–2017), Park ascended from a junior intelligence analyst to the highest civil-servant position within the agency. In addition to serving as the CIA’s executive director/chief operating officer from 2013 to 2017, Park held wide-ranging roles, including acting director, chief of human resources, director of the office of corporate resources, and chief of payroll. She guided the organization through several strategic initiatives, including the modernization of the CIA’s information technology systems.

Park received the Presidential Rank Award –– the executive branch’s highest honor for career professionals –– in 2013 and 2016. She was awarded the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal in 2016. Park is a Distinguished Executive in Residence at Georgetown University and holds a bachelor’s degree from the university’s School of Foreign Service.