Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider teaches, writes, and speaks about the importance of culture in diplomacy and international affairs, while putting these ideas into practice everywhere from war zones to Hollywood writers’ rooms. Her belief in the power of diplomacy stems from her tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands (1998-2001), a position she assumed with a background as an art historian specializing in seventeenth-century Dutch art.
Ambassador Schneider co-directs the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown, a joint signature initiative between Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and College of Arts and Sciences, with the mission of humanizing global politics through the power of performance. Additionally, Dr. Schneider co-directs the Timbuktu Renaissance, a Mali-based platform that counters extremism and promotes peace and development through a focus on culture.
Professor Schneider teaches courses in Diplomacy and Culture in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, as well as Public and Cultural Diplomacy in the Executive Master’s in Diplomacy and International Affairs (EMDIA) degree offered annually through Georgetown’s Doha and Jakarta campuses to Qatari and Indonesian professionals. From 1984-2005, Dr. Schneider was a member of Georgetown’s art history faculty and published on Rembrandt and seventeenth-century Dutch art. She also organized exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Dr. Schneider publishes and speaks frequently on topics related to arts, culture, media and international affairs. Her writings range from op eds articles for USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, CNN.com, and Foreign Policy to policy papers for Brookings; she has spoken at TED and TEDx, as well as at universities, conferences, and festivals around the world.
From 1998-2001, she served as US Ambassador to The Netherlands, during which time she led initiatives in cultural diplomacy, biotechnology, cyber security, military sales, and education. Professor Schneider has a BA and a PhD from Harvard University. @schneidercp, [email protected]
