May 15, 2026
8:30AM - 5:00PM EDT

FLARE Conference

American University

2026 FLARE Conference: 250 Years of First Ladies Making History

Sponsored by:

FLARE and American University's School of Public Affairs First Ladies Initiative

Scheduled events:

Patrons Event

Thursday, May 14, 2026
Location: Kerwin Hall, Room 301, American University

Register as a Patron sponsor to attend this private event the night before the conference. We'll welcome our keynote speaker and panelists and provide ample opportunities to meet and network with friends and colleagues. View books by FLARE members, and bid on a select group of silent auction items to benefit FLARE’s education programs. See below for donation levels; all giving levels include one or two registrations.

Conference Agenda

Friday, May 15

Badge Pick-up, Networking & Coffee - 8:30 to 9:00 am 
Location: Mary Graydon Student Center (MGSC), Room 128 

There will be a display of panelists’ and other FLARE members' books. Information to follow on how to provide books for the display. Participants will have the opportunity to purchase books through a silent auction that concludes at the end of lunch.

Welcome and Panel 1: Competitive Proposals - 9:00 am to 10:30 am

Moderator: Anne Matina, FLARE Board Member and Professor Emerita in the Department of Communication at Stonehill College, Easton, MA.

• Thomas Balcerski, Professor of History and Director of the Center for Connecticut Studies, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT. “First Ladies in Wartime.”
  
  
• Michelle Guillion, Senior Director of Curatorial Services, National First Ladies Library & Museum, Canton, OH.  “Ida McKinley: An Unwavering Champion for Women’s Rights from the White House.”
  
  
• Nick Sacco, Historian and Curator, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, St. Louis, MO. “First Lady Julia Dent Grant: Business Partner and Political Advisor.”
  
  
• Natascha Joselita Kröcker, Obama  Institute for Transnational American Studies, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany. “The First Lady on the Cover: An Archive of Magazine Covers and the Cultural History of First Ladies” (will join virtually)
  
  

Coffee Break - 10:30 am to 10:45 am

Panel 2: New and Forthcoming Books - 10:45 am to 12:15 pm

Moderator: Michael LaRosa, Former Press Secretary to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and current Partner at Ballard Partners, a bipartisan advocacy and public relations firm in Washington, D.C.

• Lois Romano, former Washington Post writer and columnist, and author of An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln.
  
  
• Jill Abraham Hummer, Independent scholar and author of Laura Bush: Texas Roots, Global Impact.
  
  
• Elizabeth “Jody” Natalle, Associate Professor Emerita of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and editor with the late Molly Meijer Wertheimer, Associate Professor of Speech Communication and Women's Studies at Pennsylvania State University-Hazleton Campus. Co-authors of the forthcoming book, First Lady Autobiography: Rhetorical Voices Beyond the White House.
  
  
• Katherine Jellison, Professor Emerita of History, Ohio University, and editor of Ohio’s First Ladies: From the Midwest to the White House.

Lunch & Keynote Speaker - 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm  

Lunch will feature keynote speaker Colleen Shogan, former Archivist of the United States, and CEO of In Pursuit interviewed by Anita B. McBride,  Executive-in-Residence at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University’s School of Public Affairs and director of the First Ladies Initiative.

Break - 1:30 pm to 1:45 pm

Panel 3: FLARE authors of Essays from In Pursuit - 1:45 pm to 3:15 pm

Moderator Alan Lowe, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director American Museum of Science and Energy, Oak Ridge, TN, and producer of FLARE’s American FLOTUS podcast

This session will be recorded for an upcoming American FLOTUS podcast and will discuss the authors' approaches to the essays, what they learned about the women they covered, and the lessons they taught.

• Nancy Kegan Smith, Immediate Past President of FLARE and Archival consultant and Retired Director of Presidential Materials Division, National Archives and Records Administration. Essay contribution: Caroline Harrison
  
  
• Heath Hardage Lee, Historian, biographer, curator, and lecturer who specializes in women’s history. Essay contribution: Pat Nixon
  
  
• Rebecca Roberts, Deputy Director of Events, Library of Congress. Essay contribution: Edith Wilson
  
  
• Jennifer Taylor, Editor of East Wing Magazine. Essay contribution: Florence Harding.
  
  

Break - 3:15 pm to 3:25 pm 

Panel 4: Competitive Proposals - 3:25 pm to 4:55 pm 

Moderator: Susan Swain, Retired Co-CEO of C-SPAN and FLARE Board Member

• Tammy Vigil, Associate Professor, College of Communication, Boston University. “First Ladies Making History Through Media."
  
  
• Andrew Och, Television and multi-media producer, documentarian, and The First Ladies Man. “Lucy Hayes: From the Battlefield to the White House.”
  
  
• Jayda Justus, Writer/creator at The History Mom, where she reviews historical sites and provides book recommendations with a special emphasis on first lady history. “A Well-Traveled First Lady: The Extraordinary Life of Louisa Catherine Adams”
  
  
• Libby Carty McNamee, Speaker, lawyer, and award-winning author. “Dolley Madison: First Lady of the Land.”
  
  

Closing Comments - 4:55 pm to 5:00 pm 

REGISTER

Registration Categories and pricing:

• $50 In-person registration
• $5 Virtual registration

Non-Members

• $100 In-person registration
• $10 Virtual registration

American University Students, Staff, Faculty and Administration

• Complimentary registration

Sponsorship Opportunities