Monique B. Seefried, PhD, first served on the IB Council of Foundation (1996-1999) and later became Chair of the IB Board of Governors (2003-2009). In 2023 she was appointed as an Honorary Member of the Board of Governors. Dr Seefried was born in Tunisia, and grew up in Austria, France and Italy. In 1973 she married Ferdinand Carlos Seefried (an Austrian) in the Vatican City. Dr Seefried has worked in education for over 40 years and has also been involved in the archaeological and museum world. She started her career by teaching History and Geography in French high schools before moving to the USA, where she taught courses on Islamic art and ancient archaeology as an adjunct professor in the Art History Department of Emory University. In June 2014, Dr Seefried was appointed by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to the World War I Centennial Commission and will complete her decade as a commissioner in 2024. The government of France awarded her the Academic Palms, the Order of Merit and - in 2015 - the Legion of Honor with the rank of chevalier, and in 2019 she was made an officer in the French Order of Arts and Letters. In 2019 also, she was awarded the U.S. Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service