Halifax International Security Forum’s Peace With Women Fellowship brings together senior, active-duty, female military officers from NATO member and partner countries for a 3-week executive tour of the political and technological capitals of the United States and Canada.
The 2023 Fellowship will continue to expand the leadership capacity of senior women officers from the NATO Alliance. By the time the 2023 class convenes, 20 countries will have participated and developed a network that be vital for the Alliance’s continued collaboration. In October 2023, Fellows will travel between cities in the United States and Canada before attending the annual Halifax International Security Forum. Over the course of 28 days, they will experience more than 45 engagements with leaders and experts from military, government, technology, media, academia, and civil society.
Eligibility:
- Active-duty female military officers from NATO member and partner countries
- Rank equivalent to army colonel or naval captain (NATO rank OF-05) or above
- Oral and written proficiency in English, as program will be conducted in English
Important Dates 2023:
- May 5 Application deadline
- June 29 Selection of Fellows
- Oct 24 Fellowship Start Date
- Nov 17-19 HFX Forum 2023
- Nov 20 Departure from Halifax
Application Instructions:
All answers should be submitted in English. Priority consideration will be given to early applicants. Before beginning the online application, applicants should prepare the following materials which will be submitted as PDF attachments to the online application form below:
- Letter of affirmation from applicant’s commanding officer that addresses the following question: Why did you choose this candidate and what value will the Peace With Women Fellowship add to the candidate’s career growth?
- Applicant CV or Resume detailing responsibilities and achievements through applicant’s military career. This should be in list form, not a narrative.
- Applicant short professional biography (200 words or less)
- Essay questions to be completed by applicant (300 words or less per question)
- Describe your current responsibilities and the scope of your accountability/authority (budget, personnel, etc.).
- What are your short-term and long-term goals within your country’s armed forces?
- What aspect(s) of the Fellowship do you feel will be important to apply to your current and future roles?
- What has been your most pressing leadership challenge and how have you addressed or resolved it?
Application
The Fellowship is designed to challenge participants by engaging with senior government, military, corporate, and academic leaders to discuss and better understand the world’s leading security issues. The program endeavors to not only ensure that the Fellows can discuss the problems and ideas they face, but also propose innovative solutions and apply what they learn in their home countries. HFX is proud to lead the security community with this unprecedented Fellowship program advancing women’s leadership in security, while fostering a dynamic network of women military leaders across the world.
The Halifax Peace With Women Fellowship begins in Washington DC and travels to Silicon Valley, Ottawa, and Toronto. The program concludes at the annual Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia.
The program draws from diverse sectors, including defense, science and technology, media, academia, and civil society. In keeping with the organization’s goal of advancing a modern vision of security, the Fellowship aims to extend beyond the traditional definitions of domestic and international security. Fellows engage in discussion with over 50 meeting hosts. Some highlights over the years include meetings with:
In the United States
Former Secretary of State of the United States, Madeleine Albright
Former Secretary of State of the United States, General Colin Powell
Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks
Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Heather Wilson
Secretary of the United States Navy, Richard V. Spencer
Center for Justice and Accountability
Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS)
Defense Innovation Unit
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Hoover Institution, Stanford University
In-Q-Tel
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Palantir
United States Institute of Peace
In Canada
Her Excellency, Jaqueline O’Neill, Ambassador for Women, Peace, and Security
Her Excellency The Right Honorable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada
His Excellency The Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Minister of National Defence of Canada, Anita Anand
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Office of the Prime Minister, Jody Thomas
Chief of the Defence Staff of Canada, General Wayne Eyre
Global Affairs Canada
Canadian Forces College
Citizen Lab
Defence Research Development Canada
Council of Canadian Innovators
Defence and Security Foresight Group
NATO Association Canada
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 the Program Reports.
Colonel (Ret.) Kathy Graef
United States Army
Kelly Case
Managing Director, Strategy for Humanity
Irene Fellin
Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace, and Security, NATO
Renée Filiatrault
Former Director of Communications, Minister of National Defence; Advisory Board, Network for Strategic Analysis on Defence and Security
Iain Patterson
Chief Information Security Officer, Well Health Technologies Corporation
Group Captain Carol Abraham
Director Strategic Programmes, Royal New Zealand Air Force, New Zealand, 2020
Air Commodore Jules Adams
Commandant, Australian Defence Force Academy, Australian Defence Force, 2018
Colonel Dr. Lale Bartoschek
Chief of Branch Recruitment, Federal Ministry of Defence, German Armed Forces, 2019
Colonel Dr. Cordula Becker Ebert
Chief of Branch Public Health, Federal Ministry of Defense, German Armed Forces, Germany, 2022
Colonel Biljana Blazheska
Military Adjutant to the President, Armed Forces of the Republic of North Macedonia, North Macedonia, 2021
Colonel Krista Bouckaert
Director of Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, Department of National Defence, Canada, 2021
Brigadier General Catherine Bourdès
Deputy Director of French Higher Military Education, Directorate for Higher Military Studies, France, 2021
Colonel Katherine Branson
Wing Commander, Air Force Technical Applications Center, United States Air Force, United States, 2020
Captain Peggy Britton
Executive Assistant, DHS Joint Task Force- East, United States Coast Guard, United States, 2020
Colonel Catherine Busch
Finance Deputy, Aeronautics Maintenance Directory, French Army, France, 2020
Colonel Julie Callacott
Canadian Forces Intelligence Command Assistant Chief of Staff Support, Royal Canadian Air Force, Canada, 2022
Colonel Jennifer de Poorter
G3 of the Operational Headquarters, Royal Marechaussee, Netherlands, 2021
Group Captain Louise desJardins
Director Joint Effects/J3E, Royal Australian Air Force, Australia, 2021
Captain Cécile Dumont-Dayot
Naval Air Base Commanding Officer, French Navy, France, 2022
Commodore Rachel Durbin
Director, General Engineering, Royal Australian Navy, Australia, 2019
Colonel Rejanne Eimers-van Nes
Commander, Personnel Logistics, Royal Netherlands Army, Netherlands, 2020
Colonel Erinç Evren Elmas
Colonel, Cost Analysis Commission Leader, Air Logistics Command, Turkish Air Force, Turkey, 2021
Brigadier General Lisa Ferris
Director, Defence Legal Services, New Zealand Defence Forces, New Zealand, 2019
Brigadier General Ingrid Gjerde
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence, Ministry of Defence, Norway, 2018
Colonel (Ret.) Katherine Graef
Logistics Director, Special Operations Command Africa, United States Special Operations Command, United States, 2018
Group Captain Leah Griffin
Group Captain Recruitment and Selection, Royal Air Force, United Kingdom, 2022
Colonel Ivana Gutzelnig
Director, Military Centre of Aviation Medicine, Slovak Air Force. Slovak Republic, 2020
Lieutenant Colonel Inga Jancevičienė
Chief of Joint Medical Department of Defence Staff, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuania, 2022
Brigadier General Rose King
Director, Strategic Commitments, New Zealand Defence Forces, New Zealand, 2018
Colonel Lina Kongshavn
National Liaison Representative to NATO ACT, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Norway, 2022
Colonel Stephanie Krause
Commander, Medical Regiment No 1, German Armed Forces, Germany, 2020
Commodore Solveig Krey
Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations Section, Defence Staff Norway, Norwegian Armed Forces, Norway, 2019
Colonel Vehbije Qazim Kuti
Section Head/Deputy Director, Albania General Staff, Albanian Armed Forces, Albania, 2018
Colonel Katherine Lee
Assistant Chief of Army (Delivery), New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand, 2021
Colonel Solène Le Floch
Staff Officer, Peformance Control, Joint Headquarters, French Armed Forces, France, 2019
Colonel Geneviève Lehoux
Commander, RCAF Aerospace Warfare Center, Canadian Air Force, Canada, 2020
Colonel Lene Lillelund
Branch Chief of Concepts and Capabilities, Plans and Capabilities Division, Danish Army, Denmark, 2020
Brigadier General Debra Lovette
Director, Integrated Resilience, HQ, United States Air Force, United States, 2019
Captain Jill Marrack
CAF Special Advisor to Sexual Misconduct Response Centre, Canadian Armed Forces, Canada, 2018
Colonel Lysane Martel
Director, RCAF Professional Development, 2nd Canadian Air Division, Royal Canadian Air Force, Canada, 2019
Captain Fiona McNaught
Director, Fleet Logisitics, Australian Navy, Australia, 2020
Lieutenant Colonel Beatriz Melendez Langunilla
Battalion Commander, Army Engineers Signal & Sappers Academy, Spanish Navy, Spain 2020
Lieutenant Colonel Monika Mertinaitė
Senior Advisor, Defense Policy Group, Ministry of National Defense, Lithuania, 2021
Lieutenant Colonel Diana Morais
Chair NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives & Head of the Gender Equality Office PT MoD, Portugal, 2021
Colonel Victoria Moorhouse
Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff Medical, Headquarters Field Army, British Army, United Kingdom, 2020
Colonel (Ret.) Tracy Onufer
Chief of Staff, Special Operations Command South, United States Air Force, United States, 2019
Lieutenant General Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan
Deputy Policy Director, Netherlands Armed Forces, Netherlands, 2019
Colonel Nicole Petrucci
Operations Research Analyst, United States Space Force, United States, 2022
Lieutenant Colonel Joana Polekauskienė
Senior Instructor, General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuania, 2019
Major General Dr. Nicole Schilling
Vice President, Federal Office of Bundeswehr Personnel Management, German Armed Forces, Germany, 2018
Major General Germaine Seewer
Commandant, Armed Forces College; Deputy Chief, Training and Education Command, Swiss Air Force, Switzerland, 2020
Commodore Fiona Shepherd
Assistant Chief of Staff J1/J4, Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), British Royal Navy, United Kingdom, 2019
Colonel Anna Siverstig
Commanding Officer, Swedish Air Warfare Center, Swedish Air Force, Sweden, 2021
Brigadier General Sylvia-Carolina Sperandio
Director Military Health Services, Military Health Services, Austria, 2022
Colonel Jenny Ström
Commanding Officer 3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla, Swedish Navy, Sweden, 2022
Brigadier General Rebecca Talbot
Australian Armed Forces, Australia, 2022
Rear Admiral (Sel) Judith Terry
Deputy Director People, British Royal Navy, United Kingdom, 2021
Colonel Lara Troy
Commander Joint Movements, Australian Army, Australia, 2022
Captain Caroline Verberne
Head of the Policy Control (Department Directorate of Finance and Control) Royal Netherlands Navy, Netherlands, 2022
Captain Erin Williams
Commanding Officer, USCG Activities Far East, United States Coast Guard, United States, 2022
Colonel Danielle Willis
Commander 93 Air Ground Operations Wing, United States Air Force, United States, 2021
