Marc Pachter is a cultural historian who specializes in biography. In his 37-year history with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, he served both as director of the National Portrait Gallery and acting director of the National Museum of American History. He conducted numerous public interviews at the Smithsonian, and as a specialist in life-telling, he was the Chair of Session 434, The "Telling of Lives": Biography as a Mirror on Society, and is a Fellow of Session 506, LGBT and Human Rights: New Challenges, Next Steps and Session 551, Salzburg Global LGBT Forum: Strengthening Communities - LGBT Human Rights and Social Cohesion.