The 2021 Distinction in Corporate Service Award recognizes American Express for its commitment to restoring, preserving and enriching the National Mall. This award specifically recognizes American Express’s investments in the historic Lockkeeper’s House, which reopened in 2018 after being fully restored and now provides an exhibit space to learn the rich history of the National Mall and the surrounding area, and support of the Tidal Basin Ideas Lab, Phases I and II, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Tidal Basin Ideas Lab has been key in driving attention to the Tidal Basin and ensuring immediate and long-term solutions to the systemic problems caused by urbanization, failing infrastructure, and climate change.

Jenn White
Host, 1A from WAMU and NPR

Jenn White is the host of 1A, a daily news show produced by WAMU 88.5, Washington, D.C.’s NPR news station.

A seasoned journalist and podcast host, she has worked in public radio since 1999. She joins us from Chicago’s WBEZ where she has held several on-air positions, as host of the station’s local two-hour midday show, Reset with Jenn White, and before that as host of The Morning Shift.

She is also a familiar voice on several WBEZ podcasts, including Making Oprah, Making Obama and 16 Shots, which chronicled the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald and the trial of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. Before WBEZ, White was the local host of All Things Considered at Michigan Radio.

White is also skilled as a public speaker and has moderated numerous on-air gubernatorial and mayoral debates. A native of Detroit and graduate of the University of Michigan, she’s spent the past few years in Chicago and is now living in Washington, D.C., with her husband and dog.

His Excellency Santiago Cabanas
Ambassador of Spain to the United States

​Ambassador Cabanas was born in Madrid in 1954. He holds a Law Degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and joined the Spanish Foreign Service in 1981.

The Ambassador was most recently Ambassador to Algeria, where he started his mission in 2017. Prior, he held top-ranking positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, including Director of the Minister’s Cabinet and Director General for Foreign Policy. Ambassador Cabanas has also been Director General for Consular Affairs and Director General for Cultural and Scientific Relations.

In addition to his Ambassadorship to Algeria, he has been the Ambassador of Spain to the Czech Republic and to Jordan. He previously served as a political counselor at the Embassy in Washington, D.C. and as Consul General in Miami, Florida.

Georgette “Gigi” Dixon
Executive Vice President and Head of External Engagement, Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion (DSRI), Wells Fargo, and Member of the Trust for the National Mall’s Board of Directors

Georgette “Gigi” Dixon is the executive vice president and head of External Engagement for Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion. In this diversity-focused role, Gigi is responsible for stakeholder relationships, sponsorship activation, and advocacy and influencer strategies. Her team advances diversity, equity, and inclusion by leading and amplifying our efforts externally to ensure that people across our workforce, communities, and supply chain feel valued and respected and have equal access to resources, services, products, and opportunities to succeed.

Gigi also has served as marketing manager for Wholesale Banking, Small Business Banking, and Commercial Banking; director of Emerging (multicultural) Markets; and director of Strategic Partnerships for the Wells Fargo Foundation. She also served on the company’s Corporate Diversity Council for six years. In 2005, Gigi was recognized as one of the Most Powerful Women to Watch by American Banker magazine.

Sheila C. Johnson
Founder and CEO, Salamander Hotels & Resorts, and Vice Chair, Trust for the National Mall

Sheila C. Johnson is Founder and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts (SHR), which operates a collection of luxury properties with over $200 million in revenue. It is ranked No.4 in Minority-Owned Companies in the Washington DC Metro area. Additionally, it is ranked No.4 as the Largest Women-Owned Businesses in Greater D.C. She previously served as Vice Chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and is the only African-American woman to have ownership in three professional sports teams: the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals (2018 Stanley Cup Champions), and the WNBA’s 2019 World Champions Washington Mystics, for which she serves as President and Managing Partner. She also served on the Executive Committee of the United States Golf Association where she spearheaded efforts in increasing diversity in the game of golf.

In 2017, Ms. Johnson was named on Forbes Magazine’s Top 50 America’s Richest Self-Made Women. WE Capital, a venture capital consortium to support and invest in female-led enterprises with a goal of promoting social impact and generating financial returns was spearheaded by her in 2016. She also serves on the board of the Greater Washington Partnership, which seeks to strengthen the region’s global position as a center for commerce and innovation.

Jeffrey Reinbold
Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service

Jeffrey P. Reinbold is a national park manager with 28 years’ experience and expertise in public-private partnerships, has served as Superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks since March 2019. He manages the iconic monuments and memorials of the nation’s capital, and cares for treasured neighborhood green space with a budget of approximately $35 million and alongside a staff of nearly 300 and more than 6,000 volunteers. Reinbold also manages the National Mall’s infrastructure improvement projects, ensuring the enjoyment of future park visitors.

Reinbold previously served as the National Park Service’s assistant director for partnerships and civic engagement, where he was responsible for partnerships, philanthropy, national trails, and wild and scenic rivers. In more than 28 years with the National Park Service, Reinbold has led planning and partnership projects around the country: protecting historic sites and Civil War battlefields, developing new ways for national parks to work with their neighboring communities, and exploring ways to connect people to the national parks. He served at the National Park Service’s central planning, design, and construction center in Denver, and as the superintendent of the five National Parks in Western Pennsylvania, including Flight 93 National Memorial, where he also oversaw the international design competition for the Memorial. He started his National Park Service career as a seasonal ranger in 1990 at the Johnstown Flood National Memorial.

Reinbold holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the Ohio State University. He is married to Jacqueline Reinbold and they have two sons.

David M. Rubenstein
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, The Carlyle Group, and 2017 History, Heroes & Hope Awardee

David M. Rubenstein is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms. Established in 1987, Carlyle now manages $276 billion from 27 offices around the world.  

Mr. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Economic Club of Washington; a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation; a Trustee of the National Gallery of Art, the University of Chicago, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Institute for Advanced Study, the National Constitution Center, the Brookings Institution, and the World Economic Forum; and a Director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Mr. Rubenstein is a member of the American Philosophical Society, Business Council, Harvard Global Advisory Council (Chairman), Madison Council of the Library of Congress (Chairman), Board of Dean’s Advisors of the Business School at Harvard, Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University (former Chairman), and Board of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community.   

Mr. Rubenstein has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Duke University and the Smithsonian Institution, and Co-Chairman of the Board of the Brookings Institution. Mr. Rubenstein is an original signer of The Giving Pledge, a significant donor to all of the above-mentioned non-profit organizations, and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award, among other philanthropic awards. 

Catherine Townsend
President and CEO, Trust for the National Mall

Leading the organization’s vision and strategy, Catherine works to bring innovative ideas and solutions to fulfill the Trust’s mission and partnership with the National Park Service. Utilizing over 30 years of experience in fundraising, relationship and organizational management, strategic partnerships, marketing and brand development, Catherine is developing ambitious plans to advance new initiatives and strategic philanthropy to meet the Trust’s vision by the year 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and a celebration that will showcase the National Mall.

Prior to joining the Trust, Catherine developed her own consulting practice, providing coaching and resource support to non-profit leaders until she was recruited to join the Trust in 2016. She served as the President and Executive Director of the DC Public Education Fund from 2012 to 2014, the independent non-profit that advances initiatives to improve student outcomes in DC Public Schools, helping implement the IMPACT program with funding from major foundations, as well as help grow its annual Standing Ovation, a star-studded awards ceremony honoring the achievements of top teachers, leaders, and school communities. She has also served as Senior Advisor at Townsend Public Affairs (a family-owned business) and launched their Federal office in Washington, DC in 2008.