"I am honored to be among such distinguished company," said Armstrong. "MyFoundation and I focused on making cancer a national priority in thiselection year and recognition by these renowned institutions -- U.S. Newsand Harvard -- serves as great testament to our efforts. At the LAF, webelieve one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against cancer ishope and we plan to harness that power as we embark on our premiere globalcancer awareness campaign next year."

In addition to Armstrong, the Best Leaders issue features some of thecountry's most visionary individuals:

--  David Baltimore, Ph.D., Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology    and Former President, California Institute of Technology; Nobel Laureate    (Pasadena, CA)--  Regina M. Benjamin, M.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bayou    La Batre Rural Health Clinic, Alabama (Bayou La Batre, AL)--  Jeff Bezos, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Amazon.com (Seattle,    WA)--  Terence Blanchard and Herbie Hancock, Artistic Director and Chairman,    Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance Arts (Washington, D.C.)--  Benjamin Carson, M.D., Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Johns    Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)--  Manuel Diaz, Mayor, City of Miami (Miami, FL)--  Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and President, Children's Defense Fund    (Washington, D.C.)--  Anthony Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute for Allergy and    Infectious Disease (Bethesda, MD)--  Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, Co-founders, Knowledge Is Power Program    (San Francisco, CA)--  Robert Gates, Ph.D., United States Secretary of Defense (Washington,    D.C.)--  Fiona Harrison, Ph.D., and Maria Zuber, Ph.D., Physics and Astronomy    Professor at Caltech and the Chief Investigator for NASA's Nuclear    Spectroscopic Telescope Array Mission (Pasadena, CA); Chair of the    department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Professor of    Geophysics at MIT and the Principal Investigator for NASA's Gravity    Recovery and Interior Laboratory Mission Science (Cambridge, MA)--  Freeman Hrabowski III, Ph.D., President, University of Maryland,    Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD)--  Amory B. Lovins, Founder, Rocky Mountain Institute (Snowmass, CO)--  Anne Mulcahy, Chief Executive Officer, Xerox (Norwalk, CT)--  Indra Nooyi, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo. (Purchase, N.Y.)--  Linda Rottenberg, Chief Executive Officer and cofounder, Endeavor (New    York, N.Y.)--  Jeffrey Sachs, Ph.D., Economist, Author, Director, UN Millennium    Project, the Earth Institute, Columbia University (New York, N.Y.)--  Steven Spielberg, Director and Producer, Founder, Universal,    DreamWorks, The Shoah Foundation (Los Angeles, CA)--  Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor, San Francisco Symphony; Founder, New    World Symphony Arts (San Francisco, CA)--  U.S. Junior Officers, U.S. Armed Forces (United States)    

"These leaders are creatively working to address the country's mostpressing needs," said Brian Kelly, editor of U.S. News & World Report."Consider Marian Wright Edelman's advocacy for the disadvantaged, Dr.Anthony Fauci's work in transforming the field of medicine and publichealth, Lance Armstrong's fight to inspire and empower cancer patients --these leaders demonstrate innovation and perseverance at an important timein the nation's history."

In a collaborative effort between U.S. News and Harvard's CPL, the leaderswere selected by a nonpartisan and independent committee, convened andorganized by the Center, without the participation of U.S. News editors.The selection criteria used by the committee in choosing the honoreesincluded the ability to set direction, achieve results, and cultivate aculture of growth.

About the Lance Armstrong Foundation

The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) unites people through programs andexperiences to empower cancer survivors to live life on their own terms andto raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer. The LAF focuseson cancer prevention, access to screening and care, research and quality oflife for cancer survivors. Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and championcyclist Lance Armstrong, the LAF has raised more than $260 million for thefight against cancer. Join 60 million LIVESTRONG(TM) wristband wearers andhelp make cancer a global priority. Unite and fight cancer atwww.LIVESTRONG.org.

About the Center for Public Leadership

Established in 2000 through a generous gift from the Wexner Foundation, theCenter for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School providescutting-edge teaching and research as well as hands-on training in theskills of leadership for people in government, nonprofits and business. Formore information, go to: www.hks.harvard.edu/leadership.

About the U.S. News Media Group

The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform digital publisher of news andanalysis, which includes U.S. News & World Report magazine, www.usnews.comand www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money & Business,Education and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earneda reputation as the leading provider of service news and information thatimproves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group'ssignature franchises include its News You Can Use® brand of journalismand its "America's Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings ofcolleges, graduate schools, hospitals, health plans and more.