Kathleen M. deLaski

Kathleen M. deLaski is president of Sallie Mae's philanthropic arm, a nonprofit established to help open the doors of higher education for low income and minority families. She first joined Sallie Mae in 2001 as Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer. In this capacity, her responsibilities ranged from government and industry relations to consumer marketing and investor relations.

Prior to joining Sallie Mae, deLaski served as AOL Group Director from 1999 to 2001, managing editorial, business and marketing strategies for industry-leading online sites in such categories as news/politics, government services, and parenting. She was director of the AOL News Channel from 1997 to 1998.

In 1993, deLaski was appointed chief spokeswoman for the Pentagon by President William Clinton—the first woman to serve as the Department of Defense's top media advisor. In this capacity, she held internationally-televised news conferences, traveled regularly with the secretaries of defense, and managed the Pentagon's public affairs apparatus.

deLaski has also served as correspondent for ABC News, as a reporter for National Public Radio, associate producer for NBC News, and as a reporter for WCVB-TV, an ABC affiliate in Boston, and for WTVD-TV, a CBS affiliate in North Carolina.

deLaski earned her undergraduate degree in political science and English at Duke University and her master's degree in public administration at Harvard University's J.F. Kennedy School of Government.

She currently resides in McLean, Virginia, with her husband and two daughters.