Edythe M. Holbrook

Ms. Holbrook has been working as a consultant since 2003 for, among others, the Russian National Orchestra, heading its New York operations; the Baltic Youth Philharmonic; and IMG Artists in managing the career of virtuoso violinist Mikhail Simonyan with whom she is currently shaping a partnership with the newly founded Afghanistan Institute of Music to rebuild the country’s music culture. She was a cofounder with Grace Kennan Warnecke and director of public relations of the American Soviet Youth Orchestra in 1987, became executive director in 1989, then launched and served as president of its successor, the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra in 1992. In 2002, she retired and joined its board of directors, chaired by Henry Luce III. She was vice president for International Communications at AFS Intercultural Programs, a program she created, from 1983 to 1989. Ms. Holbrook collaborated with her father in researching a biography of James V. Forrestal, first Secretary of Defense, completed by Douglas Brinkley upon her father’s death. In the 70’s, she was special assistant to James H. Billington at The Wilson Center in Washington, DC. She has served on the boards of the Citizen Exchange Council, the Windham World Affairs Council, Alliance of Russian and American Women, St. Timothy’s School and Vermont Academy. Ms. Holbrook is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College with a degree in European history.