Featured FLARE Member
(Each month we will feature a FLARE member who is making news
and educating the public about the lives and legacies of America’s first ladies.)
CLICK HERE to share your news article(s)!
FLARE Call for Nominations
Per our By-laws we are holding our annual FLARE election, and we need your assistance in identifying members for open positions. You are welcome to nominate a FLARE member or self-nominate. Our Nominating Committee will review the nominations and prepare a slate. Please read the information from the nominating committee which includes position descriptions.
More Info >First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) Announces Allida Black, Ph.D., as the 2024 Lewis L. Gould Award Recipient
Allida Black, Ph.D., today received the 2024 Lewis L. Gould Award. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the Rothermere American Institute of the University of Oxford, Special Adviser and Historian to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Managing Director of the Allenswood Group, LLC, a collaborative she founded to strengthen democracy through education and civic engagement and to preserve women’s political history.
More Info >On This Day: FLARE Asserts the Importance of Studying Presidential First Ladies
Association celebrates its third year in shaping a network of experts and researchers around first ladies history.
More Info >FLARE's First National Conference
FLARE's first national conference "First Lady Betty Ford: 50th Anniversary Celebration" co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum, American University School of Public Affairs, and the National Archives was preceded by an inspiring luncheon hosted by Susan Ford Bales featuring First Lady Jill Biden as the keynote speaker on the Bidens' Women's Health Initiative. FLARE co-sponsored the luncheon with the Foundation and American University's School of Public Affairs.
More Info >FLARE Members in the News
Catherine Allgor
Rebecca Boggs Roberts
March 2023
White House Historical Association
The Sunday Story: America's first female president? (Edith Wilson)
March 19, 2023
She helped define what a first lady does’: Edith Wilson’s complex legacy
A new book paints President Woodrow Wilson’s wife as a complicated change-maker who refused to blend into the background
The Sunday Story: America's first female president?
Diana B. Carlin
May 2024
How Being Married to Wartime Generals Impacted These Three Presidential First Ladies
March 2024
National Archives Remembers America’s First Ladies | National Archives
March 2023
September 2023
NEW Episode: The White House 1600 Sessions Podcast ... “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies”
FLARE Members Featured in American University Magazine
August 30, 2023
Michelle Obama’s Post-White House Entrepreneurial Era is “Unprecedented”
April 2023
Is Melania Trump done?
The wife of the former president has shown little interest in following the path of other wives of presidents and presidential candidates.
February 2023
Evolution of the Modern First Lady – How We Got from Lady Washington to Dr. Biden (doleinstitute.org)
January 2023
Dole Institute announces spring semester programs | The University of Kansas (ku.edu)
March 2022
September 30 , 2021
AU partners with the First Ladies Association for Research and Education to study US first ladies - The Eagle (theeagleonline.com)
May 25, 2021
Ames (Iowa) History Museum and Ames Public Library Lecture Series | YouTube
December 19, 2020
I’m a Kansas Dr.—and an expert on the sexist treatment of women in politics | Kansas Reflector
May 16, 2020
Michelle Obama: Back to the White House? | Matisak's Blog (A Stamp on the World)
Stacy Cordery
East Wing Magazine
Michelle Obama Resurrects Hope - by Jennifer Taylor (eastwingmagazine.com)
Hillary Clinton Sees Kamala Harris Above ‘Glass Ceiling’ (eastwingmagazine.com)
What We Learned About Doug Emhoff in His Talk About His Wife (eastwingmagazine.com)
Author Stitches Together First Ladies History With ‘Common Threads’
From the Society Page to the Front Page: First Ladies as Newsmakers
She Was Told Studying First Ladies Was ‘Trivial.’ She Did It Anyway.
Lewis Gould
July 11, 2021
Western Illinois Man, Pioneering Scholar on First Ladies, Recognized for His Work – The Galesburg Register Mail
Nichola D. Gutgold
Dec. 22, 2022
The Washington Post: Barbara Walters
Dec. 13, 2022
Women’s Media Center
April 30, 2021
Jill Biden's fashion choices differ from other former first ladies | Insider
Myra G. Gutin
September 30 , 2021
AU partners with the First Ladies Association for Research and Education to study US first ladies - The Eagle (theeagleonline.com)
Jill Biden’s travels show range of missions and emotions | WTOP
Jill Biden travels to Texas to promote Covid-19 vaccines (chron.com)
April 20, 2021
Jill Biden's Fashion Choices Differ From Other Former First Ladies | Insider
January 12, 2021
Jill Biden: Less Hillary Clinton, more Barbara Bush | Washington Examiner
November 17, 2020
Vegas May be Betting on a Post-Presidential Divorce, but Melania Trump Seems All In for Her Husband | Washington Post
November 9, 2020
Jill Biden could be the only first lady to have a job outside the White House | The Lily
October 8, 2020
Melania Trump, president and COVID-19: How first ladies handle heatlh | USA Today
April 10, 2020
Melania Trump is having a moment during coronavirus pandemic | Detroit News
Jill Hummer
April 15, 2021
Nightlife: Featuring First Ladies | ABC
Katherine Jellison
January 17, 2022
Anita B. McBride
March 2024
National Archives Remembers America’s First Ladies | National Archives
March 2023
September 2023
FLARE Members Featured in American University Magazine
Catherine Allgor Recognized as “Trailblazer” in Field of First Ladies Research
First Ladies 101: An Awakening Decades in the Making
June 27, 2022
“Dionne Dichtbij de First Ladies” Dutch TV documentary – Skyhigh TV
June 22, 2022
“Dionne Dichtbij de First Ladies” Dutch TV documentary – Skyhigh TV
June 21, 2022
“Dionne Dichtbij de First Ladies” Dutch TV documentary – Skyhigh TV
June 13, 2022
“Dionne Dichtbij de First Ladies” Dutch TV documentary – Skyhigh TV
March 17, 2022
History of first ladies can inspire future generations
March 1, 2022
Jill Biden puts support for Ukraine front-and-center” – The Hill
December 2, 2021
The surprising reason first ladies can’t wear clothes off the rack, according to Laura Bush’s former chief of staff” – Insider
September 30 , 2021
AU partners with the First Ladies Association for Research and Education to study US first ladies - The Eagle (theeagleonline.com)
September 8, 2021
Jill Biden returns to teaching this week, making history
July 4, 2021
Anita McBride was interviewed by Aixa Diaz on Hearst TV to discuss FLARE
July 3, 2021
Anita McBride and Myra Gutin were quoted in a Politico article by Maeve Sheehey on the launch of FLARE
Anita McBride was quoted in a Washington Post article by Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan to discuss the impact of Rosalynn Carter’s work as first lady, particularly in the area of mental health issues
June 29, 2021
Anita McBride was quoted in The American Society of Association Executives Newsletter on the launch of FLARE
June 23, 2021
Anita McBride was quoted in an article in The College Post that also covered the launch of FLARE
June 22, 2021
Anita McBride was quoted in an article by Damare Baker in the Washingtonian on the launch of FLARE
June 21, 2021
Anita McBride: The First Ladies’ ‘stories need to be told’ | MSNBC
Anita McBride: The First Ladies’ ‘stories need to be told’ (msn.com)
Anita McBride was quoted in an article that American University’s School of Public Affairs wrote on FLARE to coincide with the launch of the association; AU shared it in This Week at AU
March 7, 2021
Who Will Be the Next Decorator-in-Chief? | Town and Country Magazine
January 20, 2021
Role of the First Lady | CBS News
Inauguration Coverage | NBC News
Challenges Facing Biden Early in His Administration | NBC4
Inauguration Day is also moving day at the White House | Fox Business
Trump’s vice president Pence applauds successor at inauguration | Reuters
Kamala Harris makes history | CTV News
January 19, 2021
Amid pandemic, White House gets deep cleaning before handover | ABC News
White House historian explains move in process for president, family on Inauguration Day | WJLA News
Melania Trump will not offer White House tour | CTV News
Deep Cleaning the White House Isn’t Really Necessary | The Atlantic
January 15, 2021
Melania Trump to Jill Biden: No tea-and-tour at White House, breaking longstanding tradition | USA Today
In Just 6 Hours, New First Family Is Moved Into White House | Voice of America.
December 9, 2020
Book Talk with Anita McBride and Kate Andersen Brower: Exploring the White House, White House Historical Association
November 11, 2020
Melania Trump has not reached out to Jill Biden either | CNN
November 10, 2020
What’s next for soon-to-be former first lady Melania Trump? | USA Today
October 15, 2020
Barron Trump tested positive for coronavirus, Melania Trump confirms | NBC’s The Today Show
August 26, 2020
Melania Trump’s GOP Convention speech: A closer look | NBC’s The Today Show
Anita McBride: Melania Trump ‘presented where we are as a nation' | MSNBC
August 25, 2020
First lady lends grace to Trump’s reelection bid | Washington Times
August 17, 2020
Three first ladies who risked their lives to advance civil rights | CNN August 17, 2020
August 13, 2020
Melania Trump plots convention speech that hopes to avoid past missteps | CNN
June 30, 2020
History of Staffing the First Lady, White House History Weekly
Lisa McCubbin Hill
Lisa McCubbin Hill
IN THE NEWS
Oct. 31, 2022 PEOPLE magazine “The Jackie Only I Knew” six-page article featuring My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin Hill
Oct. 25, 2022 TODAY Show "My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy" video clip
Oct. 25, 2022 The Way I Heard It Podcast with Mike Rowe "Best Road Trip Ever"
Oct. 19, 2022 PEOPLE Online Jackie Kennedy's Secret Service Agent Reveals Their 'Indescribable bond' and his most personal memories yet"
Oct. 30, 2022 KVRR-TV Fargo Clint Hill writes about travels with Jacqueline Kennedy
Oct. 20, 2022 PEOPLE Online "Agent Clint Hill Attempted Suicide After JFK Assassination"
Oct. 27, 2022 Belvedere retired Secret Service Agent Shares His "Travels with Mrs. Kennedy"
Oct. 27, 2022 ABC News "My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy"
Oct. 27, 2022 InForum "North Dakota native recalls years spent traveling the world with Jackie Kennedy"
Oct. 25, 2022 Kennedy Dynasty Podcast "My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy with Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin"
Oct. 27, 2022 Politics is Everything Podcast "Democracy hangs there by a threat" with Clint Hill
Oct. 29, 2022 Leaders and Legends
October 2022 Booklist Starred Review: My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy
October 1, 2022 Kirkus Reviews: My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy
Sept. 1, 2022 Publishers Weekly: My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy
Apr. 6, 2022 PEOPLE Jackie Kennedy's Secret Service Agent Announces Book of Rare Photos and Stories from Their Travels
Feb. 21, 2022 The Way I Heard It Podcast with Mike Rowe "The Best Business Card in History"
May 14, 2019: Town and Country: The Clint
Sept. 5, 2018 PEOPLE How Betty Ford's daughter staged an intervention to save her Mom's life
Sept. 7, 2018 PEOPLE Melania Trump called Betty Ford "traditional" but Betty's daughter disagrees
Sept. 11, 2018 Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Betty Ford
Sept. 12, 2018 The Wall Street Journal 'Betty Ford' Review: A Number One First Lady
Sept. 13, 2018 The Washington Post Book Review of Betty Ford
Sept. 14, 2018 Fox17 Interview: Lisa McCubbin describes writing process behind Betty Ford biography
Apr 13, 2018: "Betty Ford at 100" Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
Apr 11, 2018 WWMT-TV "Centennial Celebration honored 'the former First Lady Betty Ford"
Elizabeth J. Natalle
August 21, 2023
On classroom culture wars, teacher in chief Jill Biden treads lightly
April 2023
Is Melania Trump done?
The wife of the former president has shown little interest in following the path of other wives of presidents and presidential candidates.
September 8, 2021
Jill Biden returns to teaching this week, making history
November 17, 2020
Vegas May be Betting on a Post-Presidential Divorce, but Melania Trump Seems All In for Her Husband | The Washington Post online
Barbara Perry
March 16, 2022
First ladies help fight the good fight during war
April 25, 2021
In “The Triumph of Nancy Reagan,” her deeply researched and compellingly crafted biography of the 40th president’s second wife, Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty paints a striking portrait of how this unique partnership shaped Ronald Reagan’s political career, from the California governor’s mansion to the White House.
On the world stage, Nancy Reagan found the role of a lifetime | Miller Center
August 31, 2020
How John F. Kennedy and Eleanor Roosevelt went from rivals to allies | Miller Center
August 25, 2020
Melania Trump's task at the Republican Convention | Dallas News
June 25, 2020
Season 4, Episode 5: Eleanor Roosevelt and JFK | JFK Library
November 11, 2013
First Ladies-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy | CSPAN
'Race for the White House' - CNN
Note: I was the scholar-consultant on this series and appeared in all the episodes, including the one on 2008, which includes Hillary's contest with Obama for the nomination.
Colleen Shogan
Katherine A. S. Sibley
August 30, 2023
Michelle Obama’s Post-White House Entrepreneurial Era is “Unprecedented”
April 2023
Is Melania Trump done?
The wife of the former president has shown little interest in following the path of other wives of presidents and presidential candidates.
May 4, 2022
Jill Biden to visit displaced Ukrainians in Eastern Europe
May 15, 2021
Jill Biden Is Exactly What Washington, D.C., Needs: A Philly Girl | Philadelphia Magazine
November 1, 2020
The Media-Savvy First Lady | Journalism History Podcast
August 25, 2020
First Lady Melania Trump to Speak at Night Two of the RNC Convention | NBC10 Philadelphia
May 16, 2020
Michelle Obama: Back to the White House? | Matisak's Blog (A Stamp on the World)
Nancy Kegan Smith
March 2024
National Archives Remembers America’s First Ladies | National Archives
March 2023
September 2023
NEW Episode: The White House 1600 Sessions Podcast ... “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies”FLARE Members Featured in American University Magazine
First Ladies 101: An Awakening Decades in the Making
August 30, 2023
Michelle Obama’s Post-White House Entrepreneurial Era is “Unprecedented”
December 8, 2022
Presented a talk at the City Tavern Club at their LBJ Dinner on President & Mrs. Johnson's Efforts to Advance the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
October 26, 2022
Ms.Smith did a virtual presentation with lawyer Jason Baron for the Johns Hopkins Museum and Heritage Studies Program "NARA and Presidential Transitions: Legal and Archival Perspectives" which included discussion of the status and transfer of the records of the outgoing first lady.
October 20th, 2022
the Alexandria Times did a special feature on Ms. Smith's career entitled "Nancy Kegan Smith's career is One for the Record Books available at alextimes.com/2022/10/nancy-kegan-smiths-career-is-one-for-the-record-books/
September 19, 2022
Ms. Smith did a presentation to the FLARE Social Hour and responded to questions on the legal status and availability of the papers of first ladies
September 30 , 2021
AU partners with the First Ladies Association for Research and Education to study US first ladies - The Eagle (theeagleonline.com)
July 23, 2022
at the City Tavern Club at Washington, DC, Ms. Smith made a presentation to their Jackie Kennedy Dinner on Jackie Kennedy's relationship with the Johnson's using copies of telephone conversations and letters between Jackie Kennedy and the Johnsons.
March 31, 2021
First Ladies Who Risked Their Lives for Civil Rights, Archives Foundation | YouTube
December 7, 2020
American POTUS, First Ladies: Supporting Their Causes and Their Country | American POTUS Podcast
August 17, 2020
Three First Ladies Who Risked Their Lives to Advance Civil Rights | CNN
Tammy Vigil
Nov. 17, 2021
In Her Quiet Way, Jill Biden Reinvents Role Of US First Lady
October 15, 2021
Jill Biden travels to Virginia, New Jersey to help Democrats | AP News
March 8, 2021
Jill Biden Sees Teachable Moment in the Depths of a Pandemic | Associated Press
September 27, 2020
Political Spouses: Their Impact on the Campaign Trail | The News Virginian
August 5, 2020
Michelle Obama, l’Atout Gagnant de Joe Biden dans la Presidentielle Americaine | L’Express
August 25, 2020
Melania Trump Taking Rose Garden Turn to Pitch Her Husband | The Associated Press
May 16, 2020
Michelle Obama: Back to the White House? | Matisak's Blog (A Stamp on the World)
Molly Meijer Wertheimer
April 2023
Is Melania Trump done?
The wife of the former president has shown little interest in following the path of other wives of presidents and presidential candidates.
Previously Featured FLARE Members
Rebecca Boggs Roberts
Rebecca Boggs Roberts is an award-winning writer and educator. Previous jobs include journalist, tour guide, forensic anthropologist, political consultant, jazz singer, & radio talk show host. She is the author of a new biography of Edith Wilson, Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson. Now Deputy Director of events at the Library of Congress, she lives in DC with her husband, three sons, and a long-eared hound.
FLARE 2023 Election Results
Dear FLARE Members,
Thank you for your fulsome participation in the first election of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education, FLARE. As Chair of the Nominating Committee, I want to report that the results are in.
The 2024 Board will include the following members (dates in parentheses indicate when the term ends):
Officers:
Nancy Kegan Smith, President (12/25)
Diana B. Carlin, Vice President (12/25)
Myra Gutin, Immediate Past President (12/25)
Kathleen Spennrath, Treasurer (12/25)
Molly Wertheimer, Secretary (12/25)
At Large board members:
Anita McBride (12/24)
Katherine Sibley (12/24)
Elizabeth (Jody) Natalle (12/24)
Jeanne Wolfson (12/25)
Stacy Cordery (12/25)
Christopher Leahy (12/26)
Heath Hardage Lee (12/26)
According to our By-Laws, officers serve two-year terms. The secretary and treasurer may serve up to three 2-year terms also for a total of six years. At large board members may serve up to two consecutive 3-year terms for a total of six years.
The new leadership team will begin their positions on January 1. 2024 and will continue to lead FLARE in another successful year widening its reach and continuing its important mission of furthering the knowledge and education of the important legacies of America's first ladies.
As Chair of the Nominating Committee, I would like to thank the other members of the committee Jody Natalle, Mary Brennan and Paulette Brinka for their hard work.
Please save the date of December 11 at 7:00pm for the next FLARE virtual program with Rebecca Roberts interviewed by Heath Lee on her new book on Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson - more details to come shortly.
Nancy Kegan Smith, Nominating Committee Chair
January 2024 FLARE Members in the News
Nancy Kegan Smith Takes the Helm of FLARE--East Wing Magazine
https://www.eastwingmagazine.com/p/nancy-kegan-smith-takes-the-helm
Anita McBride Speaks About First Ladies to Hollywood on the Potomac
https://hollywoodonthepotomac.com/u-s-first-ladies/
New Book Preview: The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady
Macmillan Publishers preview the new book The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady by Heath Hardage Lee. Pat Nixon has long been perceived as enigmatic. She was voted “Most Admired Woman in the World” in 1972 and made Gallup Poll’s top ten list of most admired women fourteen times. She survived the turmoil of the Watergate scandal with her popularity and dignity intact. And yet, the media often portrayed Mrs. Nixon as elusive and mysterious. The real Pat Nixon, however, bore little resemblance to the woman so often described in the press. Read more
Catherine Allgor
As the president of the Massachusetts Historical Society Catherine Allgor is a noted historian, non-profit leader, and public history innovator. Previously, she had been the Nadine and Robert Skotheim Director of Education at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA, and a former Professor of History and UC Presidential Chair at the University of California, Riverside.
Allgor attended Mount Holyoke College as a Frances Perkins Scholar and received her Ph.D. with distinction from Yale University, where she also won the Yale Teaching Award. Her dissertation received a prize as the best dissertation in American History at Yale and The Lerner-Scott Prize for the Best Dissertation in U.S. Women's History. She began her teaching career at Simmons College and has been a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and a Visiting Professor of History at Harvard University.
Her first book, Parlor Politics: In Which the Ladies of Washington Help Build a City and a Government (University Press of Virginia, 2000), won the James H. Broussard First Book Prize from the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic and the Northeast Popular Culture/American Culture Association Annual Book Award. Her political biography, A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation (Henry Holt, 2006), was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize. In 2012, she published Dolley Madison: The Problem of National Unity (Westview Press) and The Queen of America: Mary Cutts's Life of Dolley Madison (University of Virginia Press).
President Obama has appointed Allgor to a presidential commission, The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. Catherine Allgor also serves on boards and committees for the National Women’s History Museum, the Organization of American Historians, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute, among others.
Dr. Allgor's first lady expertise is on Dolley Madison and Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams.
Myra G. Gutin, Ph.D.
Myra Gutin, Ph.D. is the Founding President of FLARE and a Founding Lifetime Member. Dr. Gutin is Professor Emerita in the Department of Communication, Journalism and Media at Rider University. She has studied first ladies since working on her doctorate and attended the first national first ladies conference convened by Betty Ford in 1984. She is the author of The President's Partner: The First Lady in the Twentieth Century and Barbara Bush: Presidential Matriarch. She contributed to Report to the First Lady, a compendium of articles about the history and function of the Office of the First Lady that was presented to former first lady Laura Bush.
A frequent media commentator, she has written book chapters, journal articles, op. ed. pieces and has made numerous presentations at national and regional communication conferences. Myra served as a special consultant to the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling first ladies exhibit during its sojourn at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, spoke about former first lady Barbara Bush as part of C-SPAN’s American First Ladies series and spoke about first ladies at the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia during the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Dr. Tammy R. Vigil
Tammy R. Vigil is a FLARE Inaugural Individual Lifetime member. Dr. Vigil is Senior Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the College of Communication at Boston University. She is the author of Moms in Chief: The Rhetoric of Republican Motherhood and the Spouses of Presidential Nominees and Melania & Michelle: First Ladies in a New Era.
