Colleen Shogan Confirmed as First Woman Archivist of the United States

Colleen J. Shogan, a former senior official at the Library of Congress and the White House Historical Association, and the author of a series of murder mysteries set in Washington, was confirmed Wednesday by the Senate to become the first woman to head the National Archives.

The National Archives and Records Administration said she will start work next week as the 11th archivist of the United States. She succeeds David S. Ferriero, who retired in April 2022, and Debra Steidel Wall, who has been acting archivist for the past 12 months.

Shogan, 47, was nominated by President Biden last year.

Ferriero has said that before he retired he told the White House: “Better not hire another White male. We’ve had 10 White males.”

In an email Thursday, he said he was “pleased to see that [Shogan] has finally been confirmed. Her experience on [Capitol Hill], the Library of Congress, and the White House Historical Association will serve her well.”

He said he was “particularly pleased that the White male … mold has been broken.”

Shogan said in a brief telephone interview Wednesday evening: “I’m very honored by the confirmation, and I look forward to getting to work.”

Regarding her role as the first female archivist of the United States, she said: “I almost can’t process it. I’m so proud.”

She told a Senate committee in February that her nomination was “the honor of a lifetime.”

“My passion for the American story started in the public high school I attended outside Pittsburgh,” she said.

“As a first-generation college student in my family, I was fortunate to receive a first-class education, which allowed me to explore the development and evolution of American ideas and institutions,” she said.