Soft Power & Cultural Diplomacy Study Group: The U.S. Department of State's Cultural Diplomacy Strategy

On March 25, the Future of Diplomacy Project's the Soft Power & Cultural Diplomacy Study Group hosted Lee Satterfield, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Over the course of four sessions, the Study Group explored the history of cultural diplomacy and  how the power of the arts has repeatedly been deployed by governments to help achieve foreign policy objectives. The group analyzed historical examples and heard from current practitioners. 

Lee Satterfield is Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), leading the State Department’s global efforts to engage individuals through academic, cultural, professional, sports, and youth exchanges. Previously, Ms. Satterfield was President and Chief Operating Officer at Meridian International Center, a non-profit center for diplomacy that strengthens engagement between the United States and the world. At Meridian she directed daily operations and spearheaded major strategic initiatives, including the launch of the Center for Diplomatic Engagement, the Center for Global Leadership, an organization-wide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce and the expansion of cultural diplomacy programs. She previously served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Prior to that, Ms. Satterfield was Deputy Chief of Protocol of the United States. In the Clinton Administration, Ms. Satterfield held several senior positions including Chief of Staff to Secretary Alexis Herman at the Labor Department, and Special Assistant to the President and Staff Director for The White House Office of Public Liaison. A native South Carolinian, Satterfield graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.