Karen Nelson Moore ’70, a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, will lead the Harvard Board of Overseers—the University’s second-highest governing body—as its new president for the 2015-2016 academic year, the University announced on Thursday.

Moore will steer the Overseers executive committee with newly elected vice chair Diana Nelson ’84, who chairs the board of hotel and travel company Carlson. According to University spokesperson Jeff Neal, administrators “believe that this is the first time that two women have served in these roles concurrently.”

The Board of Overseers, which is composed of 30 Harvard affiliates, works below the Harvard Corporation, Harvard’s highest governing body. Elected by alumni for six-year terms, the overseers advise University leaders, review schools and departments, and approve major Corporation decisions, such as the appointment of a new University president.

Both elected to the Board in 2010, Moore and Nelson will respectively replace Morgan Chu, a Los Angeles-based intellectual property lawyer, and Walter Clair ’77, a cardiologist.

Since graduating from Radcliffe in 1970, Moore has previously held positions including vice president of the Harvard Alumni Association, trustee of Radcliffe College, and elected director of the Radcliffe College Alumni Association.

Nelson, a fundraiser, is a member of the Harvard Campaign’s executive committee and the Committee on University Resources, which includes many major donors. She formerly held the roles of co-chair of the Harvard College Fund—which raises money for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences—and chair of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ task force on women and leadership.

“Karen Moore and Diana Nelson are both remarkably thoughtful, insightful, and dedicated Overseers, and it will be a privilege to work with them even more closely next year,” University President Drew G. Faust in a statement. “We are fortunate to have two such accomplished and devoted alumnae to lead the board.”

—Staff writer Mariel A. Klein can be reached at mariel.klein@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @mariel_klein.