3-14-2024 9:39am

History Buffs: White House History with Margaret Brennan

Donnella Tilery Editor

March 13, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) – The White House Historical Association will hold the first installment of its 2024 conversation series, White House History with Margaret Brennan this month on the topic of “Women in Diplomacy” and feature speakers Ambassador (ret.) Barbara Bodine, Director, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and Distinguished Professor in the Practice, Georgetown University; Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs and Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy & Security; and Alison T. Mann, Ph.D., Historian, National Museum of American Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State.

This conversation will explore the history of women contributing to and leading diplomatic efforts, highlight individual experiences serving abroad, and focus on key moments in American foreign policy and the future of diplomacy.

The conversation will be live-streamed on The White House Historical Association’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

More about the Guests:

Ambassador (ret.) Barbara K. Bodine is the Director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and concurrently a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy. Prior to joining the academic world, Ambassador Bodine served for over 30 years as a career Foreign Service Officer, primarily in the Middle East, including Tunisia, Iraq (twice), Kuwait, and as U.S. ambassador to Yemen, but also as Coordinator for Counterterrorism, on East African policy, and in East Asia. She has also held appointments at Princeton, Harvard, and MIT universities, and at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky is a foreign policy expert and diplomat specializing in national security affairs, is a Senior Fellow in Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. She brings over 30 years of government and international experience across senior levels of diplomacy, business, and defense. On the Reagan Administration National Security Council staff, she crafted U.S. policy toward Central/Eastern Europe, as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, she established and led the U.S-India, U.S.-China and U.S.-Brazil Global Issues Fora and as the President’s Envoy to Northern Ireland she received the Secretary of State’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal for her contributions to the historic devolution of power in Northern Ireland.

Dr. Alison T. Mann is a subject matter expert in the field of United States diplomatic history and a Historian at the National Museum of American Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State. She develops historic content for the museum's exhibits including crafting the narrative for the diplomatic history hall and orientation film. She authors articles for publications and online materials, and develops public and education programs.

About the Host, Margaret Brennan

Margaret Brennan is moderator of Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on CBS. She is also the Network’s chief foreign affairs correspondent based in Washington, D.C.

Brennan became moderator of Face the Nation in February 2018 and quickly became known for her tough but fair questioning of world leaders, politicians, and policy makers. World leaders including Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Vice Presidents Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron have been interviewed on the program by Brennan along with Republican and Democratic leaders including House Speakers Kevin McCarthy and Nancy Pelosi. She has covered historic moments such as the landmark nuclear deal with Iran; the conflict in Ukraine; and the accord to transfer control of Syria’s chemical weapons.

As the second woman to host the venerable CBS News broadcast, Brennan has continued Face the Nation’s legacy as America’s premier Sunday morning public affairs program and helped propel it to be the most watched in its category during the 2020-2021 and the 2021-2022 television seasons. In 2023, the broadcast was recognized with a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in TV Political Journalism, citing Brennan’s moderating approach as “measured, completely consistent, researched and prepared.”

Brennan is a board member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She graduated with highest distinction from the University of Virginia in 2002, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs and Middle East studies with a minor in Arabic. As a Fulbright-Hays Scholar, she studied Arabic at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan. She resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband Yado Yakub and their two sons.