NEW Podcast Episode Released on Giving Tuesday With Jean Case

Nov 27, 2018 Washington, D.C. —

The latest episode of The 1600 Sessions podcast, “Fearless Leadership: A Conversation with Jean Case,” was released today by The White House Historical Association, in recognition of Giving Tuesday. This inspiring episode has been released a month before the January release of Be Fearless: Five Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose, a book by Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation, White House Historical Association Board Member, and Chairman of the National Geographic Society.

In this episode, White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin speaks with Case about a variety of topics including: the importance of public-private partnerships, the fearless leadership of our nation’s leaders, and Case’s upcoming book.

On the topic of fearless leadership, she notes the trait can be attributed to George Washington, whose vision of America as a unified and independent nation was brought to life.

“We have to remember, America itself was just a startup. It was just an idea. There was an overwhelming power on the globe at that time that we took on, and it would have been so easy to just continue to bring our individual grievances as a colony and just try and make things incrementally a little better. But instead we had this fearless vision of not only a new nation, but a whole new form of government that really hadn't been seen. So I can't think of someone more fearless than the one that steps into that new role and becomes leader,” said Case.

Case also discusses how First Ladies have been equally courageous in their leadership roles.

“Betty Ford is often not talked about as one of those iconic first ladies. I'm a breast cancer survivor. And Betty Ford developed breast cancer while she was first lady. And we have to remember the time, we can't think about it like we do now, it wasn't something that was talked about, it was almost a taboo subject, right, it had the word breast in it for goodness sakes. But she was very open about what she was going through, and then she encouraged the following generation, some women across America to get screened for breast cancer. The importance of that kind of leadership from a first lady, is often sort of under appreciated and I just think she really transformed things,” said Case.

McLaurin and Case also discuss how the White House has always been a hub of innovation and inspiration, which makes giving to institutions such as the White House Historical Association so important – it helps the Association’s mission of preserving the history of the nation’s most important residence.

Case notes that the White House Historical Association’s mission is an invitation for everyone to experience the rich history of the White House. “The fact that this is a public-private partnership makes it exceedingly unique, but also assures that this...is the People’s House.”

The 1600 Sessions

In this podcast series, White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin interviews luminaries, historians, and eyewitnesses to history about America’s most famous residence and office—the White House. Each episode includes a prominent guest or guests to discuss varying facets of White House history, including insights from former staff and many other topical issues.

The 1600 Sessions is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. To hear the full episode, visit The1600Sessions.org.

For media inquiries, please contact press@whha.org or Jessica Fredericks, Communications Director, at JFredericks@whha.org.