The Hon. Anita Bevacqua McBride gives back to the Italian American community in her role as Vice Chair of Cultural Affairs on the NIAF Board of Directors. Last October, McBride was awarded the Italian honor of “Cavaliere” of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, the highest-ranking honor of the Italian Republic, in recognition of the key role she plays in strengthening relations between the United States and Italy in all fields.

She is also Executive-in-Residence at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies in the School of Public Affairs at American University. Prior to McBride’s role at American University, her White House service spans two decades and three presidential administrations under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush; and several positions at the U.S. Department of State and White House Management and Administration for President George W. Bush. From 2005 to 2009, she also served as Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush.

She is an advisor to the Laura W. Bush Women’s Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, and to the Sine Institute for Policy and Politics at American University. McBride is a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, the International Republican Institute’s Women’s Democracy Network, and the Government Affairs Task Force of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission. She serves on the Boards of the White House Historical Association and the National Symphony Orchestra. She was one of the longest serving members of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in its history and served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Board. McBride is a frequent news commentator on first ladies, presidential transitions and the operations and history of the White House.

McBride received her B.A. in International Studies from the University of Connecticut and studied at the University of Florence in Italy and at American University in Washington, D.C.