Faith Whittlesey

Whittlesey, Faith Ryan (b. 1939) has served as a director of Valassis Communications since January 1992.

She has had a long career in government, law and diplomacy at local, state and national levels. She has served as President and Chairman of the Board of the American Swiss Foundation, headquartered in New York, since 1989 and as President of Maybrook Associates, Inc. since 1998. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland from 1981 to 1983 and from 1985 to 1988. From 1983 to 1985, Ambassador Whittlesey was a member of the Senior White House Staff.

In November 1999, Ambassador Whittlesey was elected to a three-year term as Chairman of the Board of Overseers of the Institute of World Politics, a graduate school of statecraft and diplomacy in Washington, DC and in 2002 was re-elected to such position for an additional three-year term. Ambassador Whittlesey served as a member of the Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee of the Sunbeam Corporation from November 1996 until December 2002. White House Aide to President Ronald Reagan. U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, 1981-83, 1985-88.

Most commonly attributed with the quote, "Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels."