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Who We Are
Women’s clubs from many nations, united since 1986 by one idea: friendship builds understanding.
- 1986WCI founded
- 18member clubs
- 10countries
- 17international conferences
- 2020UN ECOSOC status
How it started
It began in Washington, D.C., where Marian Adair invited women from many countries to meet, share ideas and become friends. In 1959 her group became the Welcome to Washington International Club.
Members who moved back home took the idea with them and started clubs of their own.
In 1986 these clubs joined together as Welcome Clubs International: one family, whatever our politics, culture or faith.
Our founder, Marian Wood Adair
Marian Adair grew up in Hillsdale, Michigan, a town of 6,000, where a French teacher from Paris first sparked her interest in other cultures. After college she travelled around Europe with friends and came home smitten with the people she had met.
In 1950 her husband, E. Ross Adair, was elected to the U.S. Congress for Indiana, and the family moved to Washington. There she met women from many countries and listened to their lives, dreams and struggles. When her daughter Caroline asked what she saw when she met women from other cultures, she answered: “I see eyes.”
In her book Window on Washington she wrote that by 1953 she “could resist no longer” and organized a small group where women could get to know each other on a first-name basis. With the encouragement of diplomats, and advice from Mme van Roijen, wife of the Netherlands Ambassador, the first meeting took place at the Adairs’ home on May 5, 1953: wives of six diplomats, each from a different country, and soon wives of members of Congress too. Her luncheons, called “International Neighbors”, brought women from other countries living in Washington together.
Their success led her and eight other women to found the Welcome to Washington International Club in 1959. Its rules were simple: no politics, no protocol, no fundraising and no pay, because everyone gave her time freely. By the early 1970s it had about 800 members from 65 countries, and members who moved home carried the idea with them.
When her husband became U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, she did the same in Addis Ababa. Every week, women of seven or eight nationalities met in the embassy’s round glass garden house to decorate eggs, and lasting friendships grew around the table. She believed that a shared hobby is a sure bridge to friendship.
Her hospitality was famous: when a guest asked whether his pet lion cub could come to her cocktail party, she said yes. The cub curled up under a table.
From theLINK magazine (2001, 2013 and 2017/2018), with stories by her daughter Caroline Adair Dimmers and by Lois Sprigg Hazell, and the founder’s page of the earlier WCI website. Read the magazine Listen: A Look at Marian Adair ›
Our story in dates
- 1953
On May 5, Marian Adair invites the wives of six diplomats, each from a different country, to her home in Washington: the first meeting of the small international group that grew into the Welcome clubs.
- 1959
Marian Adair and eight friends found the Welcome to Washington International Club. 135 women come to the first meeting on April 13.
- 1986
Marian reaches out to former members who had started Welcome clubs in London, Denver, Brussels, Florida, Zurich, Ottawa and Taiwan. Together they become Welcome Clubs International.
- 1988
The first trip together: members travel to Taiwan at the invitation of the Taipei club.
- 1990
Welcome to London hosts the first International Conference; from now on the clubs meet every two years.
- 1994
In Denver, guests are first invited to dinner in members’ homes, a conference tradition ever since.
- 2001
WCI turns 15, and theLINK magazine begins its new series with Volume 1, Number 1.
- 2002
The Marian Wood Adair Fund is created, today’s Founder’s Fund.
- 2008
The first “Cup of Friendship” tea on International Women’s Day, held by clubs around the world.
- 2010
The first Marian Adair Award is presented at the conference in Porto Alegre.
- 2011
WCI celebrates 25 years and starts an International Cookbook with recipes from every club.
- 2016
After the conference in Prague, the Executive Committee begins the discussions that lead to the WCI Education Initiative.
- 2017
In May, meeting in Cyprus, the Board of Directors approves the WCI Education Initiative: to foster the education of women to help create a better world.
- 2020
On June 24, WCI receives Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The pandemic cancels the Jakarta conference, and the Board meets online for the first time, with every club taking part.
- 2021
WCI celebrates its 35th anniversary online on May 4.
- 2023
WCI holds its first parallel event at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67).
- 2024
The clubs meet in person again at the conference in Taipei, and the Founder’s Fund becomes a U.S. tax-exempt 501(c)(3) fund.
- 2025
At the Board meeting in Naples, Florida, Welcome to London rejoins as our 18th member club.
- 2026
Forty years of WCI, celebrated at the 17th conference in Jakarta and Yogyakarta.
In their words
“Different is not wrong, it is just different.”
“At WCI we always learn more from others than we can teach others.”
“Many of us met as strangers and departed as friends.”
“Friendship is not simply an idea but a tangible component of the road to peace.”
“When friends and family ask me what WCI is all about, I answer with one word. Friendship.”
“Welcome Clubs are organized around differences.”
How we work
An all-volunteer, non-profit organization: secular, non-political and run for its clubs and their members.
Each member club runs independently and shares these principles.
Board of Directors
The WCI President plus one liaison from each member club. One club, one vote. Meets once a year.
Executive Committee
Appointed by the President, whom the Board elects. Meets twice a year; terms run two years, July 1 to June 30.
Ways to belong
Independent international women’s clubs. Each has a seat and a vote on the Board, and its members can attend conferences and serve on the Executive Committee.
Associations of international women’s clubs. They attend conferences without a vote, and their clubs can apply to join as affiliates.
Executive Committee 2025–2027
Volunteers from clubs around the world, serving our members.
- PresidentLea HesseWelcome to Washington International Club
- Vice President / Membership ChairJeanette MalekWelcome to Colorado International Club
- SecretarySusan ToergeWelcome to Washington International Club
- TreasurerMaria WalkerWelcome to California International Club
- Director of DevelopmentGloria AnthonyBroward International Women's Club
- Director of Digital CommunicationsMaria-Antonieta RodilWelcome to Washington International Club
- Director of ProgramsMayumi HuWelcome to Taipei International Club
- Director of UN CouncilWinnifred McPhersonBroward International Women's Club
- Webmaster / Facebook ManagerOlivia JenWelcome to Taipei International Club
- Sister Club News EditorReem IversenWelcome to Florida International Club
- UN Council CoordinatorNesrin ComertWelcome to London International Club
- UN Council Graphics DesignerAri Wijayanti NugrohoWomen's International Club Jakarta
- Immediate Past PresidentVivienne ShenWelcome to Taipei International Club
- Founder's RepresentativeCaroline Adair DimmersWelcome to Washington International Club
- WCI Historian / Events ConsultantEshrat DemougeotWelcome to Washington International Club
- Consulting Adviser / UN Council AdviserMaria Fernanda ArduinoInternational Women's Club Porto Alegre
- UN Council AdviserDr. Jungsook KimWelcome to Korea International Club
Founder and past presidents
With thanks to the leaders who built WCI.
- 1986–1990Marian Wood Adair · Founder
Welcome to Washington International Club - 1990–1996Ruth Munn
Welcome to Washington International Club - 1996–2000Faye Wickersham
Welcome to Washington International Club - 2000–2003Eshrat Demougeot
Welcome to Florida International Club - 2003–2005Donna Suddeth
Welcome to Florida International Club - 2005–2008Lise McCartney
Welcome to Washington International Club - 2008–2009Padmini Durr
Welcome to Tampa Bay International Club - 2009–2010Elizabeth Lamb
Welcome to Taipei International Club - 2010–2012Julia Banks
Welcome to Colorado International Club - 2012–2014Caroline Adair Dimmers
Welcome to Washington International Club - 2014–2016Pam Bansbach
Welcome to Colorado International Club - 2016–2019Maria Fernanda Arduino
International Women's Club Porto Alegre - 2019–2021Kim Riedel
International Women's Club of Hamburg - 2021–2022Linda Anderson
International Women's Club of New England - 2022–2023Caroline Adair Dimmers & Eshrat Demougeot · Co-Directors
Welcome to Washington International Club - 2023–2025Vivienne Shen
Welcome to Taipei International Club
Friendship through Understanding, and Understanding through Education and Friendship
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Become part of the story
Every WCI club started with a few women who wanted to meet the world. Yours could be next.