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 are now open and can be found here: https://events.halifaxtheforum.org/2025PWWFApplication
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
2018
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
Colonel Sarah Brehm
Senior Analyst, United States Air Force, United States 2024
Colonel Erica Bridge
Assistant Chief of Staff Information Operations and Targeting, 1 German- Netherlands Corps (NATO), British Army, United Kingdom, 2023
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 Erica Cameron
Strategist, United States Army, United States, 2023
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 Malin Johansson-Ekenberg
Commander Swedish Armed Forces Centre for Defence Medicine, Swedish Armed Forces, Air Force, Sweden 2024
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
Colonel Sonja Fischer, MD
Chief of Branch Protocol, Executive Staff FMoD, Germany 2024
Brigadier General Ingrid Gjerde
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence, Ministry of Defence, Norway, 2018
Colonel Alison Gonzalez
Director of Staff, United States Space Force, United States 2024
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
Colonel Sarah Heer
Special Advisor to the Commander, Canadian Army, Canada, 2023
Colonel Randi Åste Huse
Director of Staff, Norwegian Joint Headquarters, Norwegian Army, Norway, 2023
Group Captain Elizabeth Hutchison
Defence Attaché Chile, Royal Air Force, Air Ops, United Kingdom 2024
Lieutenant Colonel Inga Jancevičienė
Chief of Joint Medical Department of Defence Staff, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuania, 2022
Captain Mette Stab-Johansen
Navy Command - Head of Operations and Planning Royal Danish Navy, Denmark 2024
Group Captain Hannah Jude-Smith
Assistant Air and Space Attaché, Australian Embassy, Washington, DC, Royal Australian Air Force, Australia, 2023
Colonel Nanda Kellij
Policy Director for Material, Environment, Real Estate and Sustainability Ministry of Defence, Policy Directorate, Netherlands 2024
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 Kalliroi Landry
Chief, Support Cell, U.S. Space Force, United States, 2023
Commodore Maxine Lawes
Logistics Commander Maritime, Royal New Zealand Navy, New Zealand, 2023
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
Captain Carolyn Moberley
National Strike Force Commander, United States Coast Guard, United States 2024
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
Captain Anita Nemarich
Director of Current Operations, Headquarters, Joint Operations Command Royal Australian Navy, Australia 2024
Major Anna Novak
Head of Logistics Department (S4) 58th Detached Motorized Brigade Land Forces, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukraine 2024
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
Colonel Nathalie Picot
Commander of French Air Base 106, French Air and Space Force, France 2024
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
Air Commodore Saskia Siemensma
Director of Innovation and Information, Royal Netherlands Air Force, Netherlands, 2023
Colonel Anna Siverstig
Commanding Officer, Swedish Air Warfare Center, Swedish Air Force, Sweden, 2021
Colonel Manon Sluiter
Head of Support Operations, Directorate of Material Readiness Defence Staff, Netherlands 2024
Brigadier General Sylvia-Carolina Sperandio
Director Military Health Services, Military Health Services, Austria, 2022
Captain Cathrin Streier
Director, Major Medical Support Centre, Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service, Germany, 2023
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 Angela Thomas
Director Air Plans, Royal Canadian Air Force, Canada 2024
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
Captain Kelly Williamson
Director General Coordination, Strategic Joint Staff, Royal Canadian Navy, Canada, 2023
Colonel Danielle Willis
Commander 93 Air Ground Operations Wing, United States Air Force, United States, 2021
Colonel Elise Vahramian
Fleets Manager Deputy in Land System Maintenance Directorate (SIMMT), French Army, France, 2023
