“Most of us were probably less than immaculately honest as teenagers; it's practically encoded into adolescence that you savor your secrets, dress in disguise, carve out some space for experiments and accidents and all the combustible lab work of becoming who you are.”

American essayist, speaker, and presidential historian

Nancy Reid Gibbs is an American essayist, speaker, and presidential historian. She is known for writing and speaking on American public life, with a particular focus on the presidency. Her work combines essay writing with public commentary and historical analysis. As a presidential historian, she studies the office and its place in American history, and her writing often reflects that interest in politics and leadership.