This Lois Letter about Rosalie Arndt marks the end of the summer and the last of our Board Member Spotlight series. We hope you have enjoyed getting to know our talented group of Directors.

Meanwhile, this year’s programs have begun. On August 19, the co-winners of the first Dick Arndt Prize for an Outstanding Work on Cultural Diplomacy—professors Nick Cull and Pete Millwood—presented their work to a capacity audience at DC’s Elliott School of International Relations. And both our Awards for Cultural Diplomacy and Arabic Literature Tour are coming up in September!

Cross-cultural dialogue has never been more essential, or more fragile. In my near decade of humanitarian aid work, I’ve seen firsthand how understanding across nationalities, languages, and cultures can make all the difference between conflict and cooperation. The Lois Roth Foundation has been dedicated to supporting cross cultural exchange since 1987—supporting the international work of scholars and artists, recognizing the unsung heroes of cultural diplomacy at the State Department, and elevating literature in translation so that more voices reach more readers. The Roth Foundation’s mission is not peripheral to a peaceful world–it is central to it.

For me, this work is deeply personal. As the granddaughter of Dick Arndt, who established the Foundation in memory of his wife Lois, I grew up hearing stories of Lois’ warmth, her creativity, and her tireless work as a Foreign Service Officer building bridges between the United States and other countries. Dick’s devotion to carrying her legacy forward shaped how I came to think about service and purpose. Joining the Board felt less like a choice and more like a continuation, a way to carry something forward that matters to my family and, I believe, to the world.

Throughout my career in multicultural education and humanitarian aid, I’ve focused on navigating differences: ethnic, linguistic, and cultural. What I’ve learned is that the hard work of diplomacy and cultural exchange is done by groups and individuals, and creates a path to a humane world. The kind of work the Foundation supports—Fulbright scholars building relationships across borders; dedicated diplomats creating ties to others around the world; translators making literature travel—operates at the exact intersection of human connection and institutional investment that I care about in my professional work.

I have a special admiration for the cultural diplomacy awards, particularly the Gill Jacot-Guillarmod and Jodie Lewinsohn awards, which recognize locally employed staff at US embassies and consulates around the world. These are invariably the people with the deepest roots in their communities, the longest institutional memories, and the least public recognition. Honoring them feels like an act of justice as much as celebration.

Finally, I am extremely proud to work to represent Lois through my work on this Board. Lois died quite young, and what Dick built in her name is a remarkable act of love—and conviction that her values and her work were worth making known and sustaining into the future. Serving on this board is one of the ways I try to honor both Lois and Dick, as well as to stay connected to the idea that relationships between people, across cultures and languages, are among the most important things we can invest in.