DR. CAROLYN COLVIN

Presidential Appointee | Public Administrator | CEO | Executive Coach

Carolyn W. Colvin believes that there is no greater calling than public service.  Putting her own retirement on hold, Dr. Colvin returned to public service at the request of President Barack Obama to serve as Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration in January 2011.  She had been confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 2010, as President Obama’s nominee.

On February 14, 2013, Dr. Colvin became the Acting Commissioner.  Receiving the President’s vote of confidence to lead the agency, Dr. Colvin was nominated to serve as the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration on June 20, 2014. 

Dr. Colvin has spent more than 30 years as a senior executive, leading federal, state, county, and city organizations through development, change, and innovation.  In addition to her role as the Acting  Commissioner of Social Security, Dr. Colvin served as a member of the Social Security Board of Trustees and is a National Academy of Public Administration’s Fellow. She previously held key executive positions at Social Security:  Deputy Commissioner for Policy and External Affairs (1994-1996), Deputy Commissioner for Programs and Policy (1996-1998), and Deputy Commissioner for Operations (1998-2001).  She departed the agency on January 20, 2017.

Prior to returning to SSA, Dr. Colvin was the Director of Human Services for the District of Columbia (2001-2003); the Director of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (2003-2007); the Chief Executive Officer of AMERIGROUP Community Care of the District of Columbia (2007-2008); and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Transportation (2009-2011).  In addition, Dr. Colvin was appointed by Governor William Donald Schaefer as Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Human Resources (1989-1994).

Dr. Colvin has received numerous awards and recognition for her leadership expertise and significant accomplishments.  These awards include the William Donald Schaefer Award, Schaefer Center, University of Baltimore in 2017;  the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Hall of Fame in 2016;  the Sun Magazine’s 50 Women to Watch in 2014; the Innovations in Aging Leadership Award presented by the Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia Departments of Aging in 2012;  Maryland’s Top 100 Women Award from the Daily Record in 2005; and the Women of Achievement Award from Suburban Maryland Business and Professional Women in 2005.  She has served on a variety of boards and commissions, including the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

Dr. Colvin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Morgan State University.  She also earned her graduate and undergraduate degrees in Business Administration from Morgan State University.  Additionally, she completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University, the Maryland Leadership Program, and the Greater Baltimore Leadership Program.  Dr. Colvin is from Maryland and currently resides in Anne Arundel County.  She has one son.