Selwa Roosevelt

Selwa Carmen Showker "Lucky" Roosevelt (born January 13, 1929) is an American journalist, patron of the arts, Chairman Emeritus of the Blair House Foundation and former Chief of Protocol of the United States under Ronald Reagan, serving longer (1982-1989) than any other person in that position. Early life Born Selwa Showker in 1929 - the daughter of Lebanese immigrants - she attended public schools in her home town of Kingsport, Tennessee, graduating valedictorian of her high school class.  She went on to Vassar College, where she was awarded a B.A. upon graduating in 1950 with honors. Selwa’s professional journalism and writing career began with work for the local Kingsport Times newspaper at age 16, a job she returned to every summer thereafter between high school and college terms. Career After graduating from Vassar, Selwa (now known by the affectionate nickname, “Lucky”) worked for Ladies' Home Journal magazine until she married Archibald Roosevelt, Jr. (a grandson of president Theodore Roosevelt) in September 1950. Soon after marrying, her husband, who was a senior official of the CIA, was posted to Istanbul, Turkey, where they lived from 1951 to 1953.