Jean Ard is the executive assistant to the director of the Baker Institute, Ambassador David M. Satterfield. In this capacity, she provides a full range of support — overseeing special projects, prioritizing initiatives, and executive communications. Ard serves as primary contact for the Director’s Office to internal and external constituencies and manages the institute's Board of Advisors. Before joining the institute, Ard worked at Rice University’s School of Social Sciences and spent over a decade directing government relations programs in Washington, DC.

Ard earned her bachelor’s degree from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio.