Lawyer Cheryl Mills, who defended former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial, will give the commencement speech this year for the Class of 2026. Mills also served as a core advisor for former Secretary of State, First Lady and Presidential Candidate Hilary Clinton.
Beth Nolan, Chair of the Board of Trustees contacted Mills, her close friend, to invite her to speak at Masters.
In previous years, seniors and their families were given the opportunity to suggest graduation speakers if they had a connection, but that process was changed due to the difficulty of confirming legitimate and possible suggestions.
Head of School Laura Danforth described the traits that are looked for in the search for a graduation speaker, which included finding someone who was aligned with the school values.
“You want someone who had their life journey aligned with our mission to be a power for good in the world,” she said.
Mills attended the University of Virginia and Stanford Law School before becoming deputy White House counsel at just 33 years old. Known for her first significant public courtroom appearance while the United States Senate was convened as a court of impeachment to try the president, Mills was viewed favorably by media for her conduct on Clinton’s defense team.
When White House counsel Charles F. C. Ruff left his position, Mills was offered the role but turned it down.
Mills then worked for New York University starting in 2002. There, she served as Senior Vice President for Administration and Operations and General Counsel and helped to establish the NYU campus in Abu Dhabi. She then left to serve as legal counsel and Chief of Staff for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from 2009 to 2013.
Later, Mills founded and now serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the BlackIvy Group which works to create businesses in sub-Saharan Africa.
Danforth said she hopes that Mills, like many previous commencement speakers, will help encourage and inspire the senior class in their journey beyond high school.
She said, “She will be someone who says, not in these words, ‘Don’t settle.’ Push through these barriers, jump over barriers to do the right thing. [Ask] what is your dream? And fight like hell to reach it.”
