Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel

Throughout her career, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel has served as a leading voice on some of the defining urban issues of our time. As the first Director of NYC's Cultural Affairs department, she brought the first public art exhibit to Bryant Park and the first public performance by the Metropolitan Opera to Central Park.

She was appointed by President Reagan to the Board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, by President Clinton to U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, by President Obama to the American Battle Monuments Commission, and by President Biden to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts. The longest serving Commissioner of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (1972–1987), she was Chair of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Foundation (1987–1995), where she created the now standard street name signs, markers, and maps programs that identify NYC's Historic Districts. As Chair of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center she created the Cultural Medallions program to commemorate notable New Yorkers. Also, she was a founding director of the Friends of the High Line.

Diamonstein-Spielvogel earned her doctorate from NYU and is the author of twenty-four books about art, architecture, photography, crafts, design, and public policy.

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