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The Diplomacy Center Foundation has received new support from the Koret Foundation that will aid in the creation of new temporary and permanent exhibits at the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD).

With the support of the Koret Foundation, NMAD will highlight the strong bilateral relationship that the United States shares with Israel through public programs and permanent and temporary exhibits. In recognition of over 70 years of diplomatic relations, NMAD will highlight the history and development of US-Israel relations in the Diplomacy Is Our Mission spotlight exhibit. Previous exhibits featured the Great Seal of the United States and diplomat Dr. Ralph J. Bunche.

In the permanent museum, scheduled to open fully to the public in 2022, Hall I’s “Diplomacy Is Relationships” exhibit will give visitors the opportunity to learn about bilateral relationships. The exhibit will feature 190 flags from the countries that maintain official diplomatic ties with the United States. Interactive kiosks will highlight contemporary issues and the diplomatic history between the United States and other countries, including Israel. Visitors will better understand the United States’ many bilateral relationships through the kiosks and accompanying media that include historical footage, photographs, and items from the NMAD collection.

NMAD will also highlight the bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel through its education programs. On January 27, 2020, NMAD commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day by hosting high school students for a screening of 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus and a discussion with Deborah Guido-O’Grady, a senior advisor in the US Department of State’s Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues.

The Diplomacy Center Foundation thanks the Koret Foundation for their support of the National Museum of American Diplomacy!

Image: Drawing of “Diplomacy Is Relationships” exhibit (courtesy of C&G Partners).

Members of Shirley’s Army in the Shirley Temple Private Dining Room at 20th Century Fox Studios, April 2018.

The Diplomacy Center Foundation is pleased to learn that Shirley’s Army—a group of more than 1,000 fans of Shirley Temple Black—has chosen to support the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) during its annual pin sale. Each year, Shirley’s Army designs and sells a pin, from which a portion of the proceeds are given to a cause that was important to Shirley Temple Black. This year’s pin fundraiser generated $1,500 in donations for NMAD.

Shirley’s Army organizer Melissa Tonnessen says, “the decision to donate to NMAD was an easy one—we saw that the Black family had contributed, and we knew just how important Shirley’s diplomatic career was to her and her family.” Shirley Temple Black had a distinguished diplomatic career under four US presidents over more than two decades. She first served in 1969 as a US Delegate to the UN General Assembly and then to the UN Conference on the Human Environment. She served as US Ambassador to Ghana (1974-1976) and Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and was the first woman to be Chief of Protocol of the United States (1976-1977). In November 2019, the family of Shirley Temple Black gave a major gift to the Diplomacy Center Foundation to support the creation of NMAD’s gift vault and protocol gallery.

Shirley’s Army began as a small group of devoted fans who met during the 2015 Love, Shirley Temple traveling museum exhibition sponsored by Theriault’s. Love, Shirley Temple traveled to eight museums across the United States and highlighted items from Shirley Temple Black’s childhood years from 1928-1940. Following the exhibit’s opening at the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey, a Facebook page was created for those who were interested in Shirley Temple Black’s collection. Today, Shirley’s Army has grown to more than 1,000 online members, many of whom meet up annually in California for “Shirley-palooza.” Together, they have attended many important events honoring Shirley Temple Black, including the 2016 US Postal Service dedication of her Forever Stamp in Los Angeles, California.

The annual pin sale by Shirley’s Army began following Theriault’s July 2015 auction of Shirley Temple Black’s personal childhood collection. Inspired by the police badge that Shirley Temple would give out when she was a child star, Shirley’s Army decided to create a badge to identify themselves. The first pin was designed and sold with a portion of the proceeds given to the Santa Monica History Museum. Following the success of their first pin sale, Shirley’s Army continues to sell a pin each year using different designers from their group. Other organizations benefiting from the pin sale include the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Shirley Temple Education Studio at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Since its installment in 2015, Shirley’s Army has donated a total of $8,764 to non-profit organizations.

The Diplomacy Center Foundation is honored by the support of Shirley’s Army and excited for Shirley’s Army’s upcoming visit to see the NMAD’s preview exhibit Diplomacy Is Our Mission, which features Ambassador Shirley Temple Black. Ambassador Roman Popadiuk (ret.), Diplomacy Center Foundation President, says, “we are so delighted to have the support of Shirley’s Army. Shirley Temple Black is an icon of the US film industry and a practiced diplomat who has left a great mark on the world of diplomacy. It is so warming to see her legacy preserved in the NMAD and by her scores of fans nationwide. We look forward to welcoming Shirley’s Army at the Museum and staying in contact.”

Image courtesy of Shirley’s Army.

The Diplomacy Center Foundation is pleased to announce a major gift from the family of Ambassador Shirley Temple Black in support of the capital campaign for the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD). Their gift will support the creation of the Museum’s gift vault and protocol gallery, which will be named in her honor as “The Ambassador Shirley Temple Black Gift Vault and Protocol Gallery.”

In addition to her legendary childhood film career, Shirley Temple Black had a distinguished diplomatic career under four US presidents over more than two decades. She first served in 1969 as a US Delegate to the UN General Assembly and then to the UN Conference on the Human Environment. She served as US Ambassador to Ghana (1974-1976) and Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and was the first woman to be Chief of Protocol of the United States (1976-1977). For her distinguished contributions to American diplomacy, she was appointed as Honorary US Foreign Service Officer and is the first and only person to be so commissioned.

As Chief of Protocol for the United States, Ambassador Black and her staff worked on the front lines of diplomatic engagement in the nation’s capital. Protocol ensures diplomatic relationships work smoothly by carefully planning and preparing for events, meetings, and public appearances among officials. They are also responsible for selecting and receiving the gifts exchanged during these interactions. A ceremonial aspect of diplomacy, gift-giving among leaders helps to open dialogue, provide a warm welcome to officials, and symbolize the shared hopes and goals between nations.

“The Ambassador Shirley Temple Black Gift Vault and Protocol Gallery” will display various gifts the US government has received from foreign governments during official meetings. Through this exhibit, guests will discover the important role protocol plays in achieving the United States’ foreign policy goals and ensuring security and prosperity for all Americans. Guests will also learn about Ambassador Black’s successful career in the diplomatic corps and her legacy in advancing American diplomacy.

Her family’s contribution in honor of Ambassador Black builds on her original contribution to the Diplomacy Center Foundation in 2012 as part of the Founding Ambassadors campaign. The Founding Ambassadors appeal recognizes museum donors who are members of the presidentially appointed US diplomatic community. The collective support of the Foundation’s Founding Ambassadors helped fund the construction of the 20,000-square-foot glass pavilion at the National Museum of American Diplomacy.

“Ambassador Black was an early supporter of the National Museum of American Diplomacy. We are greatly honored to continue recognizing her outstanding diplomatic legacy and hope the Museum’s gift vault and protocol gallery in her honor will serve as an inspiration to young women who are considering a career in diplomacy,” says Ambassador Roman Popadiuk (ret.), who is president of the Diplomacy Center Foundation.

The Foundation has entered into phase II of its capital campaign after having raised $50 million for the construction of a 20,000-square-foot glass pavilion at the US Department of State. Phase II of the campaign supports the design, fabrication, and installation of exhibits for the Museum. 

The Diplomacy Center Foundation has established the Excellence in Diplomacy Award to honor an individual or group with distinguished service in support of American diplomacy. The Award is epitomized by the motto “Service, Leadership, and Legacy,” which recognizes the recipient’s service to country, leadership in advancing American diplomacy, and lasting legacy for future generations. The Award will be presented at the Foundation’s annual award dinner held at the National Museum of American Diplomacy.

The 2019 Excellence in Diplomacy Award was presented to the Honorable James A. Baker, III, 61st US Secretary of State on November 5, 2020, during a special event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Secretary Baker’s public service and political career remain unparalleled as the only person to serve as US secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, and twice as White House chief of staff for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Through skillful diplomacy, Secretary Baker helped to steer revolutionary developments in Europe during his tenure as US secretary of state. At the State Department, Secretary Baker traveled to 90 foreign countries as the United States confronted the unprecedented challenges and opportunities of the post-Cold War era. His efforts helped lead to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the reunification of Germany, and the creation of a unified and democratic Europe.

His achievements helped to overcome the tensions of the Cold War and establish a brighter future in Europe that is more peaceful, prosperous, and democratic. The benefits of his diplomatic efforts will be felt for generations and he serves as an inspiration for all current and future diplomats.

At the Foundation’s commemoration for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo announced that the United States Diplomacy Center has officially changed its name to the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD).  

The institution’s name was changed because the name “United States Diplomacy Center” did not clearly convey the institution’s role as a museum. NMAD more appropriately conveys the institution’s primary function as a one-of-a-kind museum in the nation’s capital with a focus on telling the story of American diplomacy. Consistent with the Museum’s mission as the US Diplomacy Center, NMAD will continue to serve as an education center with programs in diplomacy offered to middle school, high school, and university students.

Diplomacy Is Our Mission is a new preview exhibit at the National Museum of American Diplomacy that tells the often surprising story of how diplomacy has shaped the United States as a nation. A temporary preview exhibit, Diplomacy Is Our Mission introduces to visitors what American diplomacy is, who America’s diplomats are, how diplomacy benefits the United States, and how diplomacy benefits their lives.

As visitors walk through the pavilion, they will find four circular pods that correspond to the exhibit’s overarching themes of security, prosperity, democracy, and development. Looming large throughout the exhibit, these words capture the mission of American diplomacy and provide a framework for the three stories found in each enclosure. Each pod spotlights a historic, contemporary, and surprising story about the efforts of American diplomats around the world.

Diplomacy Is Our Mission is about a shared commitment to service. It is about the individuals who have dedicated their lives to protect and strengthen the United States by pursuing its interests in security, prosperity, democracy, and development. From the founding of the United States to the global challenges of today, American diplomats have built bridges of cooperation and understanding around the world.

While the museum is under development, the preview exhibit is open to the public on Fridays with free, timed passes that can be reserved online at Diplomacy.State.gov.

Friday Open House tours and all public programs at the National Museum of American Diplomacy are temporarily closed as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can still discover stories of American diplomacy with the National Museum of American Diplomacy by exploring their online offerings:

• Diplomacy Classroom and Diplomacy After Hours virtual programs
• Stories from the Collection
• Discover Diplomacy interactive
• Online exhibits including Diplomacy Is Our Mission, Faces of Diplomacy, the Berlin Wall Interactive Timeline, and #HerDiplomacy

The Board of Directors for the Diplomacy Center Foundation has elected two new board directors. The Foundation welcomes Ambassador Eric Rubin and Congressman Jim Moran to the Board of Directors and looks forward to working with them as the capital campaign for the National Museum of American Diplomacy continues.

Ambassador Eric Rubin currently serves as president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) after having served as US Ambassador to Bulgaria from 2016 to 2019. Rubin joined the foreign service in 1985 and holds the rank of Career Minister in the Senior Foreign Service. His previous positions in the Foreign Service include Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, Consul General in Chiang Mai, and Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

Congressman Jim Moran (ret.) is a professor of practice in the School of Public and International Affairs in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech. He served as the US representative for Virginia’s 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. As a congressman, Moran served on the House Appropriations Committee, chaired the Animal Protection Caucus, and co-founded the New Democrats in 1996, which is currently one of the largest caucuses in the US House of Representatives. From 1985 – 1990, Moran served as mayor of Alexandria, Virginia.

Dr. Nancy Zinn, consulting curator for the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD), was recently elected to the International Council of Museum (ICOM)-US Board of Directors. From 2007-2010, Zinn was president of the ICOM’s International Committee for Exhibitions Exchange.

ICOM is an international organization of museums and museum professionals, which is committed to the research, conservation, continuation, and communication to society of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible. ICOM-US facilitates US museum professionals’ participation in the global museum community.

In her current role as consulting curator for NMAD, Zinn works with the director and staff on the conceptualization, planning, and development of exhibition content, design strategies, and visitor experience goals for the Museum.

A native of Minneapolis, Nancy Engstrom Zinn earned her BA in art history and microbiology from the University of Minnesota. Following a successful research career in the field of transplantation immunology, she earned her MA and PhD in the history of art from The Ohio State University, specializing in Northern Renaissance art. After holding positions in the curatorial and education departments of the Columbus Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art, Zinn joined the curatorial staff of the Walters Art Museum in 1998. She was named director of exhibitions at the Walters in 2002. As deputy director from 2012-2014, Zinn provided leadership for the museum’s curatorial, conservation, exhibitions, and collections management divisions.

Zinn holds certificates from the Getty Leadership Institute’s Museum Leadership Institute (2003) and To Be a Director (2006) programs, and she has completed Governance, Managing Change, Building Evaluation Capacity, and Leading Innovation seminars sponsored by National Arts Strategies. Zinn was a member of the College Art Association’s Museum Committee from 2003-2006. She has served on the Maryland Humanities Council’s Museum Professionals Consulting Panel and as a peer review panelist for the Institute of Museum and Library Services. A 2013 graduate of the Greater Baltimore Committee’s civic LEADERship program, Zinn held the position of lecturer in the department of Advanced Academic Programs at Johns Hopkins University from 2005 to 2010. An independent museum consultant since 2014, Zinn’s clients have included the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, Washington, and the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Ambassador Roman Popadiuk, Diplomacy Center Foundation President, says “We are delighted to hear of Nancy’s election to the ICOM-US Board of Directors. She is an asset to the Diplomacy Center Foundation and NMAD, and we congratulate her on this exciting and well-deserved professional achievement.”

From left to right: Mary Kane, US Diplomacy Center director; Susan Johnson and Ambassador Ted McNamara, Diplomacy Center Foundation board directors; US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo; Ambassador William Harrop, Foundation board of directors chair; Ambassador Roman Popadiuk, Foundation president.

The Diplomacy Center Foundation’s Executive Committee met with Secretary Pompeo to report on the progress of the United States Diplomacy Center, now known as the National Museum of American Diplomacy. The wide-ranging conversation in the Secretary’s suite lasted a half-hour and included his reflections of his Army service in Germany in the weeks leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo have shown a keen interest and strong support for the museum of American diplomacy in their statements and through their participation in numerous events in the museum’s pavilion. The Secretary expects to continue that strong support, which he considers important to his mission of strengthening American diplomacy through a public understanding of its history and practice.

Ambassador Bill Harrop, chair of the Foundation Board of Directors, and Foundation President Ambassador Roman Popadiuk reported on the status of the capital campaign and the goal to complete the museum by 2022. The discussion also centered on the steps underway to prepare and reconfigure the adjacent space of the State Department building to complete the museum and to designate the Diplomacy Center as The National Museum of American Diplomacy. The Secretary expressed his support for these efforts.

Joining Ambassadors Harrop and Popadiuk were Ambassador Ted McNamara of the Foundation Board and Susan Johnson, Foundation secretary and president of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Also participating was Mary Kane, director of the National Museum of American Diplomacy. Foundation Vice-Chair Ambassador Thomas Pickering was traveling and unable to attend.

Ambassador Harrop concluded the meeting by thanking Secretary Pompeo for the opportunity to speak with him about this important project and for the Secretary’s support.

The National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) has launched Diplomacy After Hours, thanks to the generous support of City Winery. Diplomacy After Hours is a monthly evening program that highlights the multifaceted ways in which diplomacy is practiced and what it is like to be a diplomat.

During the first Diplomacy After Hours, Public Affairs Officer Reva Gupta and Chargé d’ Affaires at the US embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, James Story spoke about life in the foreign service. Story shared his most emotional moment thus far in the service: watching the American flag being taken down for the last time before all US personnel evacuated the embassy in Caracas in March 2019. Since the first Diplomacy After Hours, NMAD has shared unique stories of American diplomacy by inviting music envoys–such as the US Air Force Band–to perform, celebrating space diplomacy with Apollo 11 astronauts, and hosting US Sports Envoy Cal Ripken, Jr.

In the coming months, Diplomacy After Hours will include a diplomacy trivia night, cultural and culinary envoys, exchange students, and many others to help tell the history, practice, and challenges of American diplomacy. To learn more about NMAD’s public programs and to attend the next Diplomacy After Hours, sign up for NMAD’s e-mail newsletters.