Elliot Gerson (born 1952) is the American Secretary to the Rhodes Trust, responsible for the Rhodes Scholarships in the United States,^[1] and executive vice president of the Aspen Institute.^[2]

Gerson was an undergraduate at Harvard University, a Rhodes Scholar who studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, a law student at Yale Law School, a US Supreme Court clerk, practised law in government and privately, held executive positions in state and federal government and on a presidential campaign, and was president of start-ups in health care and education, and of two leading national insurance and health-care companies. He has served on many non-profit boards, especially in the arts.^[3] The historian of the Rhodes Trust, Philip Ziegler, has described Gerson as "a distinguished lawyer who went on to a highly successful career in business".^[4]

For his contribution to the University of Oxford, Gerson has been recognized as a "Distinguished Friend of Oxford".^[5] He is an active promoter of philanthropy, including to education, and donor.^[6]

Gerson has published various articles, including in The Atlantic,^[7] The Washington Post,^[8] The Huffington Post,^[9] The Harvard Crimson^[10] and elsewhere.