The Peace With Women Fellowship brings together senior, active-duty, military officers from NATO and NATO-partner countries for a 4-week executive tour of the political, military and technological centers of the United States and Canada.
HFX launched the Peace With Women Fellowship in 2018 because women’s participation and leadership in international and security affairs leads directly to more peaceful and equitable outcomes.
Applications for the 2025 Peace With Women Fellowship will open in February 2025.
Important Dates:
- May 15 (11:59pm ET) application deadline
- June notification of selected Fellows
- October 27 Fellowship begins
- November 21-23 2025 Halifax International Security Forum
- November 24 Fellowship concludes
With an opportunity to live, work and learn together during a four-week executive study tour of Canada and the United States and to attend the annual Halifax International Security Forum as full participants, the Peace With Women Fellowship is designed to fully equip senior female military officers from NATO and NATO-partner countries for their future leadership positions.
The Fellowship itinerary is designed to broaden the officers’ understanding of security. The program includes informal meetings with senior military, political, business, technology and thought leaders in Canada and the United States and concludes at the annual Halifax International Security Forum where the Fellows participate alongside ministers, general officers, legislators, industry leaders and experts from the world’s democracies.
Select Meetings 2018-2024
Individuals
Madeleine Albright, Former United States Secretary of State
Frances Allen, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Canadian Armed Forces
Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, Canada
James Baker, Director of Net Assessment, United States Department of Defense
Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee
Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, Canada
Charles Q. Brown Jr., United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Jennie Carignan Chief of the Defence Staff, Canadian Armed Forces
Michael Carpenter, Special Assistant to the President; Senior Director for Europe, National Security Council, United States
Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, Canadian Armed Forces
Linda Fagan, Commandant, United States Coast Guard
Sharon Feist, Director for Women, Peace and Security, United States Indo-Pacific Command
Irene Fellin, NATO Secretary General’s Representative for Women, Peace and Security
Lisa Franchetti, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy
Kirsten Gillibrand, United States Senator, New York
Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, United States Department of State
Mara Karlin, Assistant Secretary of Defense Strategy, Plans and Capabilities, United States Department of Defense
Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President, United States
Peter MacKay, Former Minister of National Defence, Canada
Bill Matthews, Deputy Minister of National Defence, Canada
H.R. McMaster, Former United States National Security Advisor
Samuel Paparo, Commander, United States Indo-Pacific Command
Colin Powell, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Former Secretary of State, United States
James Risch, United States Senator, Idaho
Jacky Rosen, United States Senator, Nevada
Chance Saltzman, Deputy Chief of Space Operations, Cyber and Nuclear, United States Space Force
Jeanne Shaheen, United States Senator, New Hampshire
Richard V. Spencer, United States Secretary of the Navy
Jody Thomas, National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Office of the Prime Minister, Canada
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Peter Welch, United States Senator, Vermont
Heather Wilson, Secretary of the United States Air Force
Institutions and Organizations
Amazon Web Services
Brookings Institution
Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries
Canadian Forces College
Canadian Global Affairs lnstitute
Canadian Red Cross
CAE
CBC News
Center for Justice and Accountability
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Council on Canadian Innovators
Council on Strategic Risks (CSR)
Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies
Deloitte
DLA Piper
East-West Center
Fox News
The Hill Times
HFX
International Republican Institute
IPSOS
Macdonald-Laurier lnstitute
McCain Institute
Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
National Democratic lnstitute
National Endowment for Democracy
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
North American Aerospace Defense Command
Pacific Forum
Palantir
Peterson Space Force Base
United States Air Force Academy
United States Coast Guard District 14
United States lnstitute of Peace
United States Northern Command
The Washington Post
Women in Defence and Security
Stakeholders, observers, and the Fellows themselves have declared the program a tremendous success. Learn more about some of the impact the program has had by reading past Program Reports.
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
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