A Monumental Conversation: Herstory on America's Civic Stage - The National Mall
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM EDT
From chaining themselves to cherry trees to marching for voting rights, America’s Civic Stage – The National Mall – has hosted some of history’s most important moments for American women. Join this distinguished panel discussion as the Trust for the National Mall’s Women’s Leadership Committee hosts this important conversation to share and preserve herstory.
This monumental conversation includes speakers Lisa Kathleen Graddy, Curator, National Museum of American History, and Rebecca Roberts, Curator of Programming, Planet Word, and will be moderated by Georgette “Gigi” Dixon, Head of External Engagement, Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion (DSRI), Wells Fargo.
This special virtual event is open to the public.
The event link will be distributed upon registration. If you have any questions, please contact Libbie Reed at ereed@nationalmall.org.
About the Speakers
Lisa Kathleen Graddy
Lisa Kathleen Graddy has worked at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History since 1989 and serves in the museum’s Division of Political History as a curator of American political history, reform movements, and women’s political history which includes the Institution’s famous first ladies collection. She is the curator of the museum’s popular exhibition, The First Ladies. Her recent work includes the museum’s new exhibition, Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage, the voting rights section, “A Vote, A Voice,” as a co-curator of the exhibition, American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith and the companion book, American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith(Smithsonian Books, 2017). Graddy was an author and member of the editorial committee for the Institution’s book marking the suffrage centennial, Smithsonian American Women.
Graddy’s work and research centers on the ways that Americans, particularly women, have found a public voice and wielded political power through organizing, participating in, and building institutions such as reform movements, voting rights movements, suffrage organizations, and political parties. She is the curator of the museum’s popular ongoing exhibition, The First Ladies. Her past work includes the exhibitions The National Woman Suffrage Parade, 1913; The First Ladies; A First Lady’s Debut; The First Ladies at the Smithsonian; Exhibiting George Washington; and as co-curator, the traveling exhibition, First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image. She is co-author of two books on the Smithsonian’s first ladies collection, First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image and The Smithsonian First Ladies Collection.
Lisa Kathleen is currently working on books and programs to mark the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment and continuing to research and expand the collections documenting the women in American political life. Like Alice Paul she’s moving on to the ERA.
Rebecca Roberts
Rebecca Boggs Roberts is an educator, author, and speaker, whose books include The Suffragist Playbook: Your guide to changing the world; Suffragists in Washington, DC: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote; and Historic Congressional Cemetery. She has been many things, including a journalist, producer, tour guide, forensic anthropologist, event planner, political consultant, jazz singer, and radio talk show host. Currently she is the curator of programming at Planet Word, a museum of words and language which opened in 2020. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, three sons, and a big fat dog. Rebecca’s next book is a biography of Edith Wilson.
Georgette “Gigi” Dixon
Head of External Engagement, Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion (DSRI), Wells Fargo
Georgette “Gigi” Dixon is a 27-year financial industry veteran and the head of External Engagement at Wells Fargo. In this role, Gigi is responsible for diverse stakeholder relationships, sponsorship activation, and advocacy and influencer strategies. She currently serves as a Vice Chair for the NAACP Foundation, Corporate Advisory Board member for UnidosUS, Chair of the Opera Carolina board of advisors and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
About Monumental Conversations
Monumental Conversation is the Trust for the National Mall's newest virtual event offering. This series features dynamic conversations with distinguished panelists who will discuss the history and influence the National Mall represents. From diversity to sustainability, join us as we tackle the most relevant topics in American life and reflect upon the role America's Civic Stage has played. To learn more and view recordings of past Monumental Conversations, please visit our website at: nationalmall.org/monumental-conversations.
About the Women’s Leadership Committee
In 2007, a small group of dynamic women formed the Women’s Leadership Committee (WLC) of the Trust for the National Mall. Since the Committee’s first benefit luncheon in a small tent on the National Mall, this exceptional group has actively advocated to restore the prestige and attention our National Mall deserves. To learn more and to get involved, please visit our website at: nationalmall.org/womens-leadership-committee.
About the Trust for the National Mall
As the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan philanthropic partner of the National Park Service dedicated to restoring, enriching and preserving the National Mall, the Trust for the National Mall brings expertise, private funding and in-kind support to time-sensitive restoration and sustainability projects, mobilizes volunteers and provides educational opportunities to ensure that the National Mall endures and evolves as a vibrant space for all. With over 36 million visits annually to the National Mall, combined with aging infrastructure and the need for better visitor amenities throughout the park, the Trust is helping the National Park Service tackle the more than $800 million needed for critical repairs and improvements.
