The following post was contributed by Meridian Board Chair Megan Beyer, who sat down with Global Communications Fellow Abby Haley to discuss the intuitive collaboration of women’s leadership, and . This post is part of the HERspectives series honoring Meridian’s leading ladies in Women’s History Month.   Who is your biggest female inspiration or mentor? I am one of the legions of women in public diplomacy who can thank Ann Stock for advice, pep talks, the best political strategy, and loyal friendship. Ann has worked at the White House, in the corporate world, the Kennedy Center, and the State Department at the highest...

The following post was contributed by Randi Levine, Chair of Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy. She is also Commissioner at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. and Trustee at The New Museum in New York City. This post is part of the HERspectives series honoring Meridian’s leading ladies during Women’s History Month. Who is your biggest female inspiration or mentor? It’s difficult to choose only one female inspiration since I am moved by so many leading women, and particularly inspired by women in the arts. To be a woman in the arts takes courage. It takes bravery to provoke...

Julia Chang Bloch is a Chinese American diplomat, and the first U.S. Ambassador of Asian descent. Born in China in 1942, Bloch immigrated to the United States at age nine, and grew up in San Francisco. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964, and a master’s degree in Government and East Asia Regional Studies from Harvard University in 1967. Her extensive career in international affairs and government service began in 1964 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sabah, Malaysia. In an interview for Youku.com, Bloch shared her motivations for pursuing...

United States Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland is a 35th Generation New Mexican, an enrolled citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna and one of the first two Native American Women elected to Congress. On March 15, 2021, she was sworn in as the First Native American Cabinet Secretary. Haaland was born in Winslow, AZ, in 1960 to two military parents. Her father was a 30-year combat Marine who was awarded the Silver Star Medal during Vietnam, and her mother was in the Navy. Haaland attended 13 different public schools during her childhood, and ultimately graduated from Highland High...