Adams Speaker Series, Abigail Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams:

The Impact of U.S. First Ladies on American, Presidential, and Global History.

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Check In: 5:00 pm
Program: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm

Quincy High School
100 Coddington Street
Quincy, MA

Join us for the Adams Presidential Center’s Adams Speaker Series Event for an engaging panel discussion featuring renowned historians and educators as they explore the remarkable contributions of U.S. First Ladies—Abigail Adams, Louisa Catherine Adams, and others who shaped the evolving role of the First Lady. Discover how these influential women left their unique mark on the position, drawing from their backgrounds, interests, and relationships, while navigating their husbands’ administrations. Gain insight into how their leadership, influence, and legacy continue to shape the presidency and the nation today.

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This is a free public program. Register to reserve your space in-person or join us virtually.

Distinguished Historians and Educators

Anita McBride

ANITA B. MCBRIDE

Director of the First Ladies Initiative at American University, School of Public Affairs; Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush; Founding Member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE)

Anita McBride is an internationally recognized expert on first ladies and the operations of the White House. In 2023, she co-authored Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women, showcasing the evolving role of the first lady and its historical influence on the American presidency. She also co-authored a first of its kind textbook, U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies, which fills a long overdue gap in academic literature on the study of first ladies and their influence in history.

Anita is a founding member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE), affiliated with the American University School of Public Affairs, which aims to create and sustain a network to promote and publicize research and education relevant to the contributions, lives, impact, and lasting legacies of U.S. First Ladies. She is also an executive-in-residence at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. She directs programming and national conferences on the legacies of America’s first ladies (the First Ladies Initiative) and their historical influence on politics, policy, and global diplomacy.

She has shared her expertise on the changing roles and responsibilities of America’s first ladies on MSNBC, CNN, and FoxNews, as well as with the Washington Post and the New York Times. She also has served as a consultant to HBO’s Emmy-award winning series, Veep. McBride’s expertise on the influence of first ladies on American politics, policy and global diplomacy was acquired through her two decades of White House service. As Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush, she became one of the longest-tenured women in White House history. She directed the first lady’s travel to 67 countries in four years to support U.S. foreign policy objectives in human rights, women’s empowerment, global health and education, and human freedom, including historic visits to Afghanistan, the Middle East and the Thai-Burma border. McBride also served in senior roles under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

Throughout her career, McBride has focused on elevating the stories of first ladies around the world. She co-founded the RAND African First Ladies Initiative and Fellowship program, partnering with African first ladies to support their efforts as champions of change in their countries, as well as train their staff and advisors in strategies for managing an effective first lady’s office. She is a board officer of the White House Historical Association, an advisor to the Laura W. Bush Women’s Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute and a consultant to several other global non-profit institutions. She also is a member of the US-Afghan Women’s Council, the International Republican Institute’s Women’s Democracy Network, the National Italian American Foundation, and is a Founding Advisor of RightNow Women PAC. She is a frequent speaker on the history and operations of the White House.

Diana Carlin

DIANA B. CARLIN

Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University; Founding Member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE)

Diana B. Carlin is professor emerita of communication at Saint Louis University and a retired faculty member and administrator at the University of Kansas. She taught courses on first ladies at both universities. She is currently an adjunct in the School of Public Affairs at American University where she teaches a virtual course on first ladies. Her interest in first ladies began with a biography of Abigail Adams while in elementary school. She is the author of book chapters Martha Washington, Julia Grant, Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama.

She is the co-author with Anita B. McBride and Nancy Kegan Smith of the first textbook on first ladies, U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies and Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women. She authored articles for the White House History Quarterly on first ladies and Sesame Street in the White House and on The Generals’ Wives: Martha Washington, Julia Grant, and Mamie Eisenhower. She teaches a variety of Osher Lifelong Learning classes on first ladiesand has given several newspaper and radio interviews on first ladies. She is a founding member of FLARE—First Ladies Association for Research and Education and currently serves as vice president.

Nacy Kegan Smith

NANCY KEGAN SMITH

Retired Director of the Presidential Materials Division of the National Archives and Records Administration; Founding Member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE)

Nancy Kegan Smith is retired Director of the Presidential Materials Division at the National Archives and Records Administration, the staff that advised the White House on presidential, first lady and vice presidential records issues, presidential moves and transitions. She started her career as an archivist at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas and later worked at National Archives Building in D.C. from 1973 until 2013. She first became interested in first ladies as an archivist at the LBJ Library working with Lady Bird Johnson in …

processing her beautification files and doing an oral history with her. She has authored book chapters on Lady Bird Johnson and Michelle Obama, is co-editor of Modern First Ladies – Their Documentary Legacy and lectures on first ladies and presidential records. She is the co-author with Anita B. McBride and Nancy Kegan Smith of the first textbook on first ladies, U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies, and Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women. She is a founder and currently is President of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education, FLARE.

Kurt Graham

DR. KURT GRAHAM

PRESIDENT OF ADAMS PRESIDENTIAL CENTER

Kurt Graham is the inaugural president of the Adams Presidential Center in Quincy, Massachusetts. Previously, he served as the director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. As director, he oversaw a $30M renovation of the principal museum exhibits and dramatically expanded the Library’s educational and public programming. He has also directed the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, and the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City.

Prior to his work in the public history field, Graham was a member of the history faculty at California State University, San Bernardino, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in American political and legal/constitutional history. He has a Ph.D. in American history from Brown University and a B.A. and an M.A. from Brigham Young University in English and American studies, respectively. He is the author of To Bring Law Home: The Federal Judiciary in Early National Rhode Island (Northern Illinois University Press, 2010). He and his family are in the process of relocating to Massachusetts.

Books Co-Authored by Our Esteemed Panelists

Books

The Next Chapter Books and More, Quincy’s wonderful local bookstore, will be onsite at the event offering autographed editions of “Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women“. Interested in your own copy prior to the event —advanced editions are available for purchase now at the bookstore. Visit The Next Chapter Books and More to learn more.

“U.S.First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies” and “Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women”

“U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies” and “Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women” present a groundbreaking combination of an academic textbook and an engaging read for the general public. Together, they provide a comprehensive exploration of the evolving role of the First Lady and its lasting impact on the American presidency. These books shed light on the remarkable women who broke barriers and left an enduring legacy—shaping the nation and, at times, influencing the world—before, during, and beyond their years in the White House.