Amb. Cynthia Schneider

Cynthia P. Schneider, an expert on cultural diplomacy, teaches, publishes, and organizes initiatives in the field of cultural diplomacy with a focus on relations with the Muslim world. She leads the Arts and Culture Dialogue Initiative within the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and is a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. Schneider served as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1998 -2001, in which position she led initiatives in public and cultural diplomacy, biotechnology, cyber security, and military affairs. From 1994-1998, she served as Vice Chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

As head of the Arts and Culture Dialogue Initiative within the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, Schneider seeks to maximize the potential of arts and culture to increase understanding between the United States and the Muslim world. The Initiative’s activities include research, convening meetings in the U.S. and different regions of the Muslim world (including the annual Arts and Culture Leaders Workshop at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha), and catalyzing projects, such as Muslims on Screen and Television (MOST, http://www.mostresource.org), which provides valuable resources and accurate information on Islam and Muslims for the U.S. entertainment community. Schneider’s white paper Mightier than the Sword: Arts and Culture in the U.S.-Muslim World Relationship was published by the Brookings Institution in October 2008 (http://www.brookings.edu/experts/schneiderc.aspx), and her policy memo A New Way Forward: Words into Action through Cultural Engagement with the Muslim World, will be published in September, 2009. She has numerous other publications on public and cultural diplomacy, and speaks regularly on cultural diplomacy topics at international conferences.

Schneider currently teaches courses in Diplomacy and Culture at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. From 1984-2005, she was a member of Georgetown’s art history faculty and published on Rembrandt and seventeenth century Dutch art. During the 1980s Schneider curated exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Schneider serves on the Boards of Directors of Wesley Theological Seminary, the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy, the Center on Citizen Diplomacy, and the Council of American Ambassadors. She was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Order in 2001. Schneider received her B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She speaks French fluently, and also speaks Italian, Dutch, and some German.