Gary Orren: Full Bio

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Gary Orren
Professor of Public Policy

Gary Orren is the Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy and Management at Harvard University. He has taught at Harvard for over 30 years, and is on the faculty of the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

A leading expert on public opinion, politics, strategic communication, and persuasion, his books include: Equality in America: The View from the Top; The Electronic Commonwealth: The Impact of New Media Technologies on Democratic Politics; Media Polls in American Politics; and Media and Momentum: The New Hampshire Primary and Nomination Politics.

He serves as a consultant on strategy and communications to corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Over the years, Professor Orren also has conducted and analyzed opinion polls for many clients, including the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the New York Times. At the Times he played a leading role in the creation of the first national news media poll, the New York Times/CBS News Poll.

A self-confessed “political junkie,” he has worked as a political adviser in local, state, and national election campaigns in the U.S. and other countries. He served on the national political party commissions that drafted the rules for the U.S. presidential nomination process. He now assists ABC television news as an expert analyst in its coverage of election night results.

Professor Orren is a popular lecturer and public speaker. Currently, his lectures and talks (like his research and writing) are devoted to the subject of persuasion. An intensive seminar on “The Science and Art of Persuasion” which he delivers to executives and leaders from the private, public, and non-profit sectors has won high praise from audiences in the U.S. and abroad.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Gary Orren graduated summa cum laude with high honors in Government from Oberlin College. With financial support from the Danforth Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, he continued his studies at Harvard University where he received a Ph.D. in Political Science. While studying at Harvard, he was awarded the Frederick Sheldon Fellowship and the Toppan Prize for best dissertation in political science.

On leave from Harvard, he worked for three years at City Year, a national youth service program, first leading a team of a dozen young people in their daily community service work, and then as Director of National Policy and Planning. He now serves on City Year's National Board of Trustees.

In his free time, he enjoys string instruments—playing some (violin, guitar, banjo, and ukulele) and playing with others (a tennis racket). An avid baseball fan, he and his son are completing a 16-year odyssey visiting every Major League baseball park.

His wife, Merle, is a neuropsychologist who specializes in the rehabilitation of brain-injured patients. They have two grown children and live in Newton, Massachusetts.

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