
Alumnae
The Halifax Peace With Women Fellowship brings together a group of diverse and accomplished women from NATO member and partner countries. All Fellows are senior ranking active-duty officers and represent varying branches of the military with a broad spectrum of responsibilities. Halifax International Security Forum is proud to have a distinguished network of Fellowship alumnae.

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 Biljana Blazheska
Military Adjutant to the President, Armed Forces of the Republic of North Macedonia

Colonel Krista Bouckaert
Director of Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, Department of National Defence

Brigadier General Catherine Bourdès
Deputy Director of French Higher Military Education, Directorate for Higher Military Studies

Colonel Jennifer de Poorter
G3 of the Operational Headquarters, Royal Marechaussee, Netherlands

Group Captain Louise desJardins
Director Joint Effects/J3E, Royal Australian Air Force

Commodore Rachel Durbin
Director, General Engineering, Royal Australian Navy, 2019

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, 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, 2018

Brigadier General Rose King
Director, Strategic Commitments, New Zealand Defence Forces, 2018

Commodore Solveig Krey
Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations Section, Defence Staff Norway, Norwegian Armed Forces, 2019

Colonel Vehbije Qazim Kuti
Section Head/Deputy Director, Albania General Staff, Albanian Armed Forces, 2018

Colonel Katherine Lee
Assistant Chief of Army (Delivery), New Zealand Defence Force

Colonel Solène Le Floch
Staff Officer, Peformance Control, Joint Headquarters, French Armed Forces, 2019

Brigadier General Debra Lovette
Director, Integrated Resilience, HQ, United States Air Force, 2019

Captain Jill Marrack
CAF Special Advisor to Sexual Misconduct Response Centre, Canadian Armed Forces, 2018

Colonel Lysane Martel
Director, RCAF Professional Development, 2nd Canadian Air Division, Royal Canadian Air Force, 2019

Lieutenant Colonel Monika Mertinaitė
Senior Advisor, Defense Policy Group, Ministry of National Defense, Lithuania

Lieutenant Colonel Diana Morais
Senior Advisor to the Minister of National Defense, Ministry of National Defense, Portugal

Colonel (Ret.) Tracy Onufer
Chief of Staff, Special Operations Command South, United States Air Force, 2019

Air Commodore Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan
Commander, Cyber Defence Force, Netherlands Armed Forces, 2019

Lieutenant Colonel Joana Polekauskienė
Senior Instructor, General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Lithuanian Armed Forces, 2019

Major General Dr. Nicole Schilling
Vice President, Federal Office of Bundeswehr Personnel Management, German Armed Forces, 2018

Commodore Fiona Shepherd
Assistant Chief of Staff J1/J4, Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), British Royal Navy, 2019

Colonel Anna Siverstig
Commanding Officer, Swedish Air Warfare Center, Swedish Air Force

Rear Admiral (Sel) Judith Terry
Deputy Director People, British Royal Navy

Colonel Danielle Willis
Commander 93 Air Ground Operations Wing, United States Air Force

Gina Bennett
Adjunct Associate Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, 2020, 2021

Charlotte Lindsey Curtet
Director of Digital Transformation and Data, International Committee of the Red Cross, 2019

Randi Davis
Director, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, United Nations Development Programme, 2018

Lieutenant General (Ret.) D. Michael Day
Canadian Armed Forces, 2020, 2021, 2022

Colonel (Ret.) Katherine Graef
United States Army, Peace With Women Fellowship Alumnae, 2020, 2021, 2022

Clare Hutchinson
Special Representative for Women, Peace, and Security, NATO, 2018

Dr. Mara Karlin
Director, Strategic Studies Program, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, 2018, 2019

Iain Paterson
Managing Director, Cycura, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2o22`

Ben Renda
Chief Operating Officer, Google Fi, 2019

Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider
Hoover Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 2020, 2021, 2022

Dr. Grace Scoppio
Dean of Continuing Studies and Professor in the Department of Defence Studies, Royal Military College of Canada, 2018

Dr. Cassandra Steer
Board Member, WIIS Canada, 2018

General (Ret.) Janet Wolfenbarger
United States Air Force, Committee Chair, 2018, 2019, 2o2o, 2021
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
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 The Right Honorable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada
Minister of National Defence of Canada, Harjit Sajjan
Deputy Minister of National Defence of Canada, Jody Thomas
Chief of the Defence Staff of Canada, General Jonathan Vance
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.