Diane LiebmanResearcher 2008–Present

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Diane Liebman was born and raised in Queens, New York, so it is fitting that her primary area of research is William’s activities in that borough.

Since joining the Diary Project she has done extensive work on William’s 23-year involvement with the Blackwell’s Island Bridge—an unrealized plan to link Queens and Manhattan that was the forerunner to today’s Queensboro Bridge. She also is an active member of a committee dedicated to developing funding for the next installment of the Diary Project.

Liebman graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin where she received a BA in European history, and subsequently earned an MA in history from New York University. She spent 21 years in communications and public relations for NBC, Eastern States Bankcard Association, the Association of American Railroads, and CSX Transportation. In 1990 Liebman switched to government relations, becoming a vice president in CSX Corporation’s Government Affairs Office. Since retiring in 2002, she has devoted time to numerous charitable endeavors, including volunteering for In-2-Books, an on-line literacy program for elementary school children, and The Washington Ear, a reading service for the visually and physically challenged. Currently, in addition to working on the Steinway Diary Project, she is providing editorial assistance to a visually impaired physician completing a multi-volume work on Phantom Limb Syndrome. Liebman lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband, Bill, who is also a Smithsonian volunteer.