Feb 10-11: Winter Ethical Leadership Conference for High School Students

Friday Application Deadline - $1,000 Scholarship Opportunity!

Future Leaders: The Marshall Center looks forward to hosting our next Ethical Leadership Conference for DMV high school juniors and seniors in Leesburg, Virginia on February 10 and 11. The FREE, in-person, interactive program gives students the opportunity to shape their approach to leadership and decision-making, drawing on the life of one of the most remarkable and influential leaders in American history.

"I got a lot out of that conference. I liked that it was focused on service to our country, as well as leadership and integrity.” - Citadel Cadet and ELC Alumni John Cramer

Apply by this Friday, February 3!

Participants are also eligible for $1,000 post-secondary education scholarship opportunities.

Marshall Center Announces New Leadership for 2023

We are very pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of the George C. Marshall International Center has selected Thomas “Tom” Greenspon to serve as its chairman for the next three years. The Board also welcomed Andrew Boardman, a Leesburg resident and data center executive, as its newest member.

“It is a profound honor to serve as Chairman of the Marshall Center Board,” said Greenspon. “The last few years have been incredibly exciting, highlighted by the creation of our growing Ethical Leadership Program and the year-long celebration of the Marshall Plan’s 75th anniversary. I look forward to doing even more to share the legacy of George C. Marshall with leaders of today and tomorrow.”

“I am incredibly grateful to join the Board of the Marshall Center,” said Boardman. “I am committed to doing all I can to create more opportunities for high school students and emerging professionals to benefit from our Ethical Leadership Program and to generating support for the construction of a modern museum facility on the grounds of Dodona Manor.” Learn more and check out coverage by Loudoun Now.

February 16 Foreign Policy Forum

Genocide Prevention 80 Years After the Holocaust

Join us on Thursday, February 16 from Noon to 1:30 p.m. ET for a “fireside chat” with Naomi Kikoler, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide.

Kikoler led the Center’s policy engagement with the United States government and work with Bearing Witness countries, including undertaking the documentation of the commission of genocide by ISIS. Previously she developed and implemented the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) work on populations at risk and led the Centre’s advocacy, including focusing on the United Nations Security Council.

She has also worked for Amnesty International Canada, the UN Office of the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, the Office of the Prosecutor at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement at the Brookings Institution.

Kikoler holds common law and civil law degrees from McGill University, a MSc. in Forced Migration from Oxford University where her thesis was on the Rwandan genocide, and a B.A. from the University of Toronto.

March 1 Book Club

“The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today”

Join us on Wednesday, March 1 from Noon to 1 p.m. ET for a discussion of “The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today,” by Hal Brands.

Although the threat posed by authoritarian powers is growing, America’s muscle memory for dealing with dangerous foes has atrophied in the 30 years since the Cold War ended. In long-term competitions where the diplomatic jockeying is intense and the threat of violence is omnipresent, the United States will need all the historical insight it can get.

Exploring how America won a previous twilight struggle is the starting point for determining how America can successfully prosecute another high-stakes rivalry today.

Marshall enjoying a respite from the war in his vegetable garden

April 2 Special Churchill Event at Dodona

“With Affection and Admiration”, The Letters of George C. Marshall and Winston S. Churchill

On Sunday, April 2 from 4-5:30 p.m. ET, Marshall historian Rachel Yarnell Thompson will speak at the Marshall Center about the relationship between two great 20th-century leaders whose bond was forged in the crucible of war. To develop her presentation, Thompson used letters, photographs and other documents from the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge, England and the George C. Marshall Research Library in Lexington, Virginia.

These unique historic documents reveal a relationship of deep mutual respect, despite personalities that seemed polar opposites. From 1939 to 1945, General Marshall served as U.S. Army Chief of Staff and was President Roosevelt’s prime military advisor at wartime conferences. Churchill, who headed a coalition government as prime minister and also acted as minister of defense, regularly disagreed with Marshall on the best means for achieving victory in Europe.

However, these two wartime leaders found common ground and determined to build an alliance capable of defeating Hitler’s regime. At war’s end, Marshall and Churchill both turned to the arduous work of building an enduring peace. Letters exchanged during those years, and featured in the exhibition, reflect a deepening friendship, built on a remarkable wartime partnership.

This event will be held in the Haub Room inside Dodona Manor. Seating is limited to 30 attendees. RSVP Today!