Phi Beta Kappa is delighted to welcome an extraordinary new member to the national office team in Washington, DC. This March, Eva Orlebeke Caldera (ΦBK, Harvard College, 1985) joined the staff as the new Associate Secretary/COO of the Society.
Immediately before joining ΦBK, she served as Assistant Chairman for Partnership and Strategic Initiatives at the National Endowment for the Humanities, a post she held since September of 2009. While there, she served as a core member of the senior leadership team, working in such areas as programs, budgeting, communications, and strategic planning. She oversaw a number of signature NEH initiatives, including Bridging Cultures and The Common Good: Humanities in the Public Square.
Caldera is originally from Winnetka, Illinois, but her career has taken her across the country and back. She earned her bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Harvard College, where she graduated with Honors, then earned a JD degree with Honors from Harvard Law School. She practiced law in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, then went on to become a Research Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she combined teaching, research, and practice as medical ethics coordinator for the university hospital and medical school.
“At a time of major shifts in the landscape of American higher education, Phi Beta Kappa is poised to cultivate and foster deep and wide networks of talented people of diverse backgrounds who value liberal education and who are eager to contribute to society,” Caldera said. The depth of her experience will allow Caldera to make a substantial contribution to our work.