FLARE Members in the Newsview all news

Diana Carlin contributes Jane Pierce 'In Pursuit' essay
05/21/2026

Diana Carlin contributes Jane Pierce 'In Pursuit' essay

Grief can narrow a life—or deepen moral resolve


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Conference Recap from East Wing Magazine
05/18/2026

Conference Recap from East Wing Magazine

250 Years of First Ladies Making History

FLARE members, scholars, historians and book authors gathered at American University on May 15th for debate and discussion of presidential spouses.


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Mathew Costello Authors James K. Polk 'In Pursuit' Essay
04/29/2026

Mathew Costello Authors James K. Polk 'In Pursuit' Essay


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FLARE Announcements all announcements

FLARE Launches the Journal of First Ladies Studies
04/24/2026

FLARE Launches the Journal of First Ladies Studies

The inaugural issue of a new scholarly publication dedicated to advancing research on the lives, influence, and historical impact of America’s First Ladies launches today.


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FLARE Virtual Program: Jackie Kennedy & Brooklyn's Design Works
04/13/2026

FLARE Virtual Program: Jackie Kennedy & Brooklyn's Design Works

Watch on our YouTube Channel

Phyllis Ross explores a little-known chapter in Jackie Kennedy’s post–White House life: her involvement in launching The Design Works of Bedford-Stuyvesant.


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In case you missed it: A Visit to Montpelier - The Home of Dolley and James Madison
03/25/2026

In case you missed it: A Visit to Montpelier - The Home of Dolley and James Madison

Watch the virtual program on our YouTube Channel


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American FLOTUS Podcasts View All Podcasts

Flare Podcasts

New podcast episode released April 23

From White Haven to the White House: The 200 Year Legacy of First Lady Julia Grant

On this episode of American FLOTUS, Robert Lippert and Nick Sacco from the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site join host Alan Lowe to discuss the remarkable life and legacy of Julia Grant in the year we celebrate her 200th birthday.  From her youth in Missouri and meeting a young Ulysses Grant, to the horrors of the Civil War and her eight historic years as First Lady, Sacco and Lippert paint a picture of a woman who left her mark on Washington and our nation.

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Melania Trump offers condolences for lost 'heroes' at UN Security Council
When Lady Bird Johnson asked the South to join the future
When Eleanor Roosevelt came to campus, she championed peace
Martha Washington Was a ‘Real Person’
View All First Ladies in the News
Our Mission

The mission of FLARE is to create and sustain a network to promote and publicize research and education relevant to the contributions, lives, impacts, and lasting legacies of U.S. First Ladies.

Our Vision

FLARE will be the primary association to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and outreach among scholars, teachers, institutions, first ladies' staff, biographers, archivists, journalists, historians, and the general public interested in research and education about the lasting legacy of U.S. First Ladies. 

 

FLARE Focus more information

FLARE Focus on Betty Ford’s Dance with Vulnerability and Leadership

Jamey Grisham

Mrs. Ford in the Cabinet Room of the White House

“Betty Bloomer Ford’s vivid performance as our most candid first lady has made her memorable,” observes first daughter Margaret Truman.[1] Although much scholarship centers on Ford’s advocacy for breast cancer awareness and substance abuse, comparatively little has probed the influence of her early years as a professional dancer. Before her White House tenure, Ford trained rigorously in modern dance—a discipline that deeply informed her lifelong commitment to authenticity and empathy.
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Upcoming Events view all events

 June 2026 
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First Ladies Birthdays view all events

Tue
2
2026
June 2, 2026

Martha Custis Dandridge Washington

June 2, 1731

Tue
2
2026
June 2, 2026

Helen “Nellie” Herron Taft

June 2, 1861

Wed
3
2026
June 3, 2026

Dr. Jill Jacobs Biden

June 3, 1951

Mon
8
2026
June 8, 2026

Ida Saxton McKinley

June 8, 1847

Mon
8
2026
June 8, 2026

Barbara Pierce Bush

June 8, 1925

Tue
30
2026
June 30, 2026

Elizabeth Kortright Monroe

June 30, 1768

* indicates Inaugural Lifetime Individual Member

*Kristin Ahlberg

*Catherine Allgor

Sara W. Armstrong

*Thomas J. Balcerski

*Maurine Beasley

Jacqueline Berger

*Allida Black

*Pamela G. Bourland-Davis

*Mary C. Brennan

*Christopher Brick

*Paulette Brinka

*Mary Balfour Calvert

*Diana B. Carlin

Kathie Cesa

*Stacy Cordery

*Erika N. Cornelius Smith

*Susan Donius

*East Wing Magazine

Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum

*Sharon Fawcett

Andra Gillespie

*Lewis L. Gould

James R. Grisham, III 

*Nichola Gutgold

*Laura Gutin

*Myra G. Gutin

*Linda B. Hobgood

*Edwina and Tom Johnson (Atlanta)

*Kay Sebring-Roberts Kuhlmann

Michael LaRosa

*Christopher J. Leahy

*Heath Hardage Lee

Alan Lowe

*Anne F. Mattina

*Anita B. McBride

*Lisa Hill McCubbin

*Elizabeth J. Natalle

*Nick Natalle

Andrew Och

*Valerie Palmer-Mehta

*Barbara Perry

*G. Joseph Pierron

*Maria Protti

*Lindsay B. Reynolds

*Rebecca Boggs Roberts

*Katherine A. S. Sibley

*Nancy Kegan Smith

*Mary Stockwell

*Larry and Louann Temple

*Elizabeth Lorelei Thacker-Estrada

*Courtney C. Travers

*Tammy R. Vigil

*Molly Wertheimer

*Sharon Williams Leahy

 

*Jeanne Ryan Wolfson

 

 

*Nancy Beck Young

*Kay Zerwick