Lindsay M. Chervinsky is an American presidential historian who is Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. She is a political historian.
Chervinsky was born in California. She holds a B.A. in history and political science from George Washington University. [1] She received a masters (2014) and Ph.D. (2017) from the University of California, Davis. [2]
Chervinsky was a historian at the White House Historical Association. [3] She was then a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, [4] a fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, [5] and the Kundrun Open Rank Fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. [6] Her work has received fellowship funding from numerous organizations, including the Library of Congress, the Society of the Cincinnati, the International Center for Jefferson Studies, and the National Library for the Study of George Washington. She has recently been named the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. She is cited and interviewed for her expertise on presidential elections. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] She was featured on Wired’s “Tech Support” in 2025. [13]
Chervinsky is the author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, which was published by Belknap / Harvard University Press in April 2020. [14] [15] The Wall Street Journal says of her writing, “[Chervinsky] argues persuasively that focusing on its development helps us understand pivotal moments in the 1790s and the creation of an independent, effective executive. [16] ”
The Cabinet was awarded the 2021 NSDAR Excellence in American History Book Award by the Daughters of the American Revolution, a Finalist for the 2020 Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year Award, and Co-Winner, 2019 Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize. [17] [18] [19]
Chervinsky's second book was an edited volume with co-editor Matthew R. Costello, entitled Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture published by University of Virginia Press in 2023. [20] Her third book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic, was published by Oxford University Press in September 2024. [21]
As referenced by GWtoday, "Chervinsky is a commentator for national TV and radio and has written for The Wall Street Journal, [22] TIME Magazine, [23] USA Today, [24] CNN, [25] Washington Monthly, [26] and The Washington Post." [27] [28]
Lindsay Chervinsky was born Lindsay Bowles. She changed her name after marrying Jacob Chervinsky in 2014. Jacob Chervinsky is General Counsel for Compound Labs, Inc., a financial technology company, and is passionate about blockchain. [29] [30]