Cynthia P. Schneider teaches, publishes, and organizes initiatives in the field of cultural diplomacy, with a focus on relations with the Muslim world. For the Brookings Institution she leads the Arts and Culture Initiative within the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. The Initiative seeks to maximize the potential of arts and culture to increase understanding between the United States and the Muslim world.  Its activities include research, convening meetings in the U.S. and different regions of the Muslim world, and catalyzing projects, such as the Hollywood Engagement Initiative which provides valuable resources and accurate information on Islam and Muslims for the U.S. entertainment community.  Prof. Schneider teaches courses in Diplomacy and Culture at Georgetown University, where, from 1984-2005, she was a member of the art history faculty, and published on Rembrandt and seventeenth century Dutch art. From 1998-2001 she served as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands. During the 1980s Dr. Schneider curated exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the National Gallery in Washington. She serves on the Boards of Directors of Wesley Theological Seminary and the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy. Schneider received her B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Melissa Aronczyk’s interest in nation branding grew out of both personal and professional experience. From 1998 to 2003 she worked in the creative department of a Canadian advertising agency, developing campaigns for tourism promotion. Since moving to New York in 2003, she has worked as a stringer for the Toronto Star, as a researcher with the Canadian Consulate General in New York and as an editor with the Social Science Research Council. Her articles on cultural branding have appeared in the Toronto Star, Maisonneuve, the International Journal of Communication, and in a collected volume edited by Craig Calhoun and Richard Sennett, Practicing Culture. She is currently completing her PhD on nation branding, cultural policy, and national identity in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, where she also teaches undergraduate courses on promotional culture, communications, and advertising.

The debate will take place at the Ontario College of Arts & Design (OCAD), in Toronto, on Thursday June 12, 2008, at 2 P.M. For more information pertaining to location, the address and maps, please consult the Shedule and Location page.