“Designed for Diplomacy” — The Diplomatic Reception Rooms

The Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) cordially invites you to a unique and fascinating cultural program, presented by Marcee Craighill, Director and Curator of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the Department of State. The program will take place on Tuesday, February 25 at 10:30 a.m. in the lower level of the National Museum of American Diplomacy, at the 21st Street entrance of the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC.

Do not miss this opportunity and join us for this magnificent visual journey of one of the most impressive American fine and decorative arts collections in the USA, presented by the distinguished Marcee Craighill.

Please RSVP no later than Friday, February 21 to office@aafsw.org or 703-820-5420 to register. All attendees without a State Department badge will need to provide their date of birth and a driver’s license or passport number to submit to the Office of Security at the State Department.

The charge for the program is $5.00 for members and $10.00 for non-members to cover the coffee and tea service. Please send your information and a check (made out to AAFSW) to our headquarters at 4001 Ninth Street North, Suite 214, Arlington VA, 22203. You may also pay by PayPal on the AAFSW website www.aafsw.org. Scroll down to find the PayPal “Donate” button on the right sidebar. You do not have to have a PayPal account, but may pay with your credit card as a guest. On the PayPal page, enter the amount you wish to pay, then click on “Donate with Debit or Credit card.”

Please come to the 21st Street entrance (between C Street and Virginia Avenue NW) where AAFSW representatives will check guests in. 

More information to follow.

We look forward to seeing you.
Sheila Switzer
AAFSW Program Chair

Marcee Craighill
Director and Curator
Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State

Marcee Craighill is Director and Curator of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, Department of State.

In this capacity, she is responsible for the suite of 42 period-style rooms in which the Secretary of State, President, Vice President, and Members of the Cabinet meet with and entertain official guests. The rooms contain an outstanding collection of 5,000 American fine and decorative arts of the 18th and early 19th centuries. They are among the most important examples of Americana in the world, valued at more than $100 million.

From 2010-2011, Marcee helped lead a successful campaign to raise $20.1 million to create the first permanent endowment ensuring that the Diplomatic Reception Rooms and the collection continue to foster diplomacy at the highest levels for generations to come. In 2013, she received the Department of State’s Distinguished Honor Award.

Marcee and her team are currently focused on utilizing the Diplomatic Rooms, their historic collection, and the diplomatic work that occurs in the rooms each day as teaching tools to share our country’s history, culture and diplomatic work with students around the world.

Marcee is also responsible for the collection of American and English fine and decorative arts at The Blair House, the President’s Guest House.

Marcee is a native Californian and graduate of Stanford University. She received a Master of Arts in the History of Decorative Arts from Parsons School of Design with a focus on eighteenth century American decorative arts.