The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library announced Wednesday that author and news analyst Cokie Roberts will deliver an address on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center in Staunton to kick off the WWPL’s Board of Trustees Retreat and Annual Meeting.

Roberts will discuss her newest book, "Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation." Her presentation is sponsored by Community Bank and the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport.

After the speech, Trustees and key stakeholders will convene an all-day retreat to plan the Presidential Library’s future. The Board of Trustees will then hold its Annual Meeting on Friday.

While Roberts’ address has already reached capacity, the Presidential Library is recording the talk so that the public can watch her taped address at a later occasion. This special series of events, including the third annual First Families Reunion, will conclude with a talk from White House Historian Dr. William Seale, titled “The Wilsons of the White House,” on Friday at 4:00 p.m. on the Emily Smith Terrace at the Presidential Library. Seale’s talk is free and open to the public.

Eric J. Vettel, Executive Director of the WWPL, says, “The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library is honored to host Cokie Roberts to speak and kick off this important retreat. Her unique perspective on the importance of women in American history and this year’s presidential campaign will make for a fascinating address.”

Roberts is a senior news analyst for National Public Radio and a political commentator for ABC News. She previously served as co-anchor of “This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts” on ABC and a contributor to the “MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour” on PBS.

She is the author of numerous newspaper and magazine columns and the recipient of numerous awards, including the highest honor in public radio, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and an Emmy Award in 1991 for her part in the ABC News special, “Who is Ross Perot?” She was the first broadcast journalist to win the prestigious Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for her coverage of Congress.

In addition to her latest book, Roberts is the bestselling author of "We Are Our Mother’s Daughters" and "Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation," about the women behind the men who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. In addition, she and her husband Steve co-wrote "From This Day Forward," an account of their 30-year marriage and other marriages in American history.