East Wing Magazine Founding Members
East Wing Magazine is an independent, journalistic-driven publication covering America’s first ladies present and past. Our work wouldn’t be possible without our generous Founding Member subscribers. Join our select Founding Member subscribers and have your expertise and work spotlighted.
Diana B. Carlin
Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University and a retired Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas. Carlin taught courses on first ladies at both universities and currently serves as an adjunct in the School of Public Affairs at American University teaching a course on first ladies. She is the author of book chapters on Martha Washington, Julia Grant, Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama and is the co-author of the first college textbook on first ladies—U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies and the book Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women. Carlin is a founding member of FLARE—First Ladies Association for Research and Education and serves as vice president.
Arthur E. Chadwick
First Ladies namesake cattleya orchid grower, author. Chadwick is president of the Virginia-based Chadwick & Son Orchids Inc. Chadwick is known for re-establishing the tradition of creating namesake First Lady cattleya orchids. Chadwick is the co-author of First Ladies and Their Orchids and regularly speaks on the topic.
Erin Donaghue
Writer, editor and journalist. Donaghue is a contributing editor to East Wing Magazine and journalist with more than 15 years of experience writing for local and national publications on topics ranging from criminal and social justice to music and astrology.
Annette B. Dunlap
Author, independent scholar and journalist. Dunlap has written the biographies A Woman of Adventure: The Life and Times of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover and Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America’s Youngest First Lady. She has been a contributor to White House History Quarterly and she created the program, “First Ladies & the Politics of Fashion,” which was broadcast on C-SPAN. She authors All Things First Ladies and can be found at annettebdunlap.com.
Teri Finneman
Author, scholar, historian, journalist. Finneman is a professor in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas and publisher of The Eudora Times, a nationally recognized news desert publication that she runs with journalism students. Her research focuses on news coverage of U.S. first ladies and women politicians, as well as the U.S. suffrage movement. She is an oral historian who captures the histories of journalists in the Heartland. Finneman is also founder and executive producer of the Journalism History podcast and The First Ladies podcast. She is the author of Press Portrayals of Women Politicians, 1870s-2000s. Her co-edited book Social Justice, Activism and Diversity in U.S. Media History, released in spring 2023. Her co-authored book, Reviving Rural News, released in 2024. And, her co-edited book, A Cambridge Companion to US First Ladies, released in 2025.
Anita B. McBride
Director of the First Ladies Initiative at American University, School of Public Affairs. Her experience includes service in three U.S. presidential administrations at the White House and Department of State and chief of staff to former First Lady Laura Bush. McBride is co-author of the children’s book First Ladies Make History with her daughter Giovanna and co-author of Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women and co-author of the college textbook U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies.
Patty Dowd Schmitz
Former CEO and president of the Canton, Ohio-based National First Ladies Library & Museum at the First Ladies National Historic Site. She has worked in executive leadership, marketing, fundraising, and consulting positions for various nonprofit cultural organizations. She is a nationally known scholar of the children’s author Laura Ingalls Wilder and she has presented her research at numerous national conferences and events.
Jeanne Ryan Wolfson
Communication strategist and author. Wolfson pens children’s picture books, both fiction and nonfiction, to scholarly writing focused on the study of America’s First Ladies. She is also a board member of First Ladies Association for Research and Education.
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Questions about becoming a Founding Member subscriber? Reach out to Editor Jennifer Taylor at jtaylor@eastwingmagazine.com.