Mary D. Kane (born March 10, 1962) is a Maryland attorney who was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2010, as the running mate of Bob Ehrlich. In October, 2011, Kane became the President and CEO of Sister Cities International. Sister Cities International was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Sister Cities International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for individual sister cities, counties, and states across the United States. Membership consists of 550 US cities, counties and states that have over 2000 partnerships in over 140 countries on 6 continents.HISTORY: Sister Cities International was created at President Eisenhower’s 1956 White House conference on citizen diplomacy, where he envisioned an organization that could be a champion for peace and prosperity by fostering bonds between people from different communities around the world. By forming these relationships, President Eisenhower reasoned that people of different cultures could celebrate and appreciate their differences that would lessen the chance of new conflicts.WHAT IS A SISTER CITY? A sister city, county, or state relationship is a broad-based, long-term partnership between two communities in two countries. A sister city, county, or state relationship is officially recognized after the highest elected or appointed official from both communities sign off on an agreement.A sister city organization is a volunteer group of citizens who, with the support of their local elected officials and government, form long-term relationships with people and organizations in a city abroad. Each sister city organization is independent and pursues the activities in thematic areas that are important to them and their community including municipal, business, trade, educational and cultural exchanges with their sister city.WHAT DO SISTER CITIES DO? Sister cities relationships offer endless possibilities for communities to conduct a wide variety of programs and activities. Programming can typically be classified in four main areas:Arts and Culture Arts and culture programs are some of the oldest and most robust in the sister cities network. These programs include museum exchanges, film and food festivals, cooperative art projects, dance and theater performances, and more. Many culture and arts activities double as economic development, drawing tourism and investment to cities across the U.S.Business and Trade In many communities, sister city relationships have served as an international bridge for local businesses to expand and help spur growth. In recent years sister city programs have increasingly incorporated economic development into their programming, including trade delegations, import/export initiatives, business-to-business events, tourism promotion, and support of business incubators and entrepreneurs.Community Development and Municipal Exchange Peer-learning between municipal employees and elected officials through sister city activ