LEILANE GRIMALDI MEHLER

President

Education

B.A., Catholic University of São Paulo

Professional Experience

From the age of 14 until she graduated university in Brazil, Mrs. Mehler was a runway fashion model.  Subsequently, in that country, she taught Portuguese as a second language to the executives of such entities as the American Embassy, Arthur Andersen & Co., Ernst & Young, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the Nestle Company, RCA Victor, and Vichy Laboratories.  In the United States, she has been an interactive multimedia instructional designer for the U.S. Government’s Federal Language Training Laboratory.

Other Volunteer Activities

Mrs. Mehler is a past chairman of the board of directors of The Summer Opera Theatre Company; a former member of the Northern Virginia board of governors of Virginia Opera and a co-founder of its guild, The Bravissimo Society, for which she organized and ran its first vocal awards competition; a past president of the Women’s Committee of the Washington Ballet; a former member of the board of visitors of the University of Maryland’s School of Music; a past member of the board of directors of the Virginia Chamber Orchestra; and a former member of the Women’s Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Since 1992, Mrs. Mehler has been a member of Welcome to Washington International Club and has served as its president.  She also has been a Chapter II president of the Capital Speakers Club, serving on various boards and committees, and a past vice president for Latin America of Alianza-Ibero Americana.  For the Anti-Defamation League, she has served on the regional board of directors for Washington, DC and Maryland, on its National Education Committee, and on its National Inter-Religious Affairs Committee.  She is a former member of the Finance Committee and a former protocol chairman of the Salvation Army Auxiliary.