As part of our “Women on Wednesdays” series, please join American University's Women & Politics Institute and the First Ladies Initiative for a virtual conversation with WPI Executive Director Betsy Fischer Martin andWashington Post political columnist, Karen Tumulty, author of the new book, The Triumph of Nancy Reagan, the “definitive biography of the fiercely vigilant and politically astute First Lady who shaped one of the most consequential presidencies of the 20th century.”

Publisher’s Weekly calls the book “a complex and engrossing portrait of one of the 20th century’s most quietly influential political figures.” Based on extensive interviews, overlooked archives, letters, memoirs, and White House records, Karen Tumulty covers the life of First Lady Nancy Reagan, the woman behind “the partnership that made the president.” From a traumatic childhood, to Hollywood, and on to the White House, Tumulty details the First Lady’s ability to finesse Washington power players to break into the world of politics through her husband’s ascendance to the presidency. Order the book here

Karen Tumulty is an award-winning political columnist for The Washington Post. Before joining the Post, Tumulty wrote for Time magazine as their congressional correspondent and national political correspondent and at the Los Angeles Times. She has been a featured guest for Washington Week on PBS, PBS NewsHour, and Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News, and her work has received several journalism accolades including the Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business and financial journalism, the National Press Foundation’s Edwin Hood Award for diplomatic correspondence, and the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting.

Tumulty received a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her graduate degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. She hails from San Antonio, Texas and grew up in the Central Texas area before pursuing post-secondary education.

Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs, where she teaches courses on campaigns and elections. During her earlier career in television news, she spent 23 years at NBC News serving as the longtime Executive Producer of Meet the Press with Tim Russert and as the Managing Editor of NBC News Political Programming.

A native of New Orleans, Fischer Martin did her undergraduate and graduate work at American University in Washington, DC. She is a cum laude graduate of their School of Public Affairs and earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communication.

“Women On Wednesdays”: Karen Tumulty - “The Triumph of Nancy Reagan”