FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 June 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Halifax International Security Forum is proud to present the 2019 class of the Halifax Peace With Women Fellowship:
Colonel Doctor Lale Bartoschek, German Air Force
Captain Rachel Durbin, Royal Australian Navy
Brigadier General Lisa Ferris, New Zealand Army
Commodore Solveig Krey, Royal Norwegian Navy
Colonel Solène Le Floch, French Air Force
Colonel Debra Lovette, United States Air Force
Colonel Lysane Martel, Royal Canadian Air Force
Air Commodore Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan, Royal Netherlands Air Force
Colonel Tracy Onufer, United States Air Force
Lieutenant Colonel Joana Polekauskienė, Lithuanian Land Force
Captain Fiona Shepherd, British Royal Navy
Fellows are senior active-duty female officers with diverse areas of expertise, including medicine, engineering, law, cyber defense, civil military cooperation, crisis management, and logistics and operations planning. The program’s main objective is to develop the knowledge and networks of women leaders so that they may become more informed and influential in their positions.
Peter Van Praagh, President of Halifax International Security Forum, today announced the class, saying:
“Building on the success of the inaugural Halifax Peace With Women Fellowship last year, we are proud to have such an accomplished and diverse group of senior officers in the class of 2019. Four new nations will participate this year, which is a testament to the critical need for such a program.
“The Fellowship will give these leaders the opportunity to augment and challenge their traditional training and to expand their visions of international security. The diversity of the group, which includes the Five Eyes – United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand – will continue the development of an international network of women who will lead their sector in promoting a modern vision of security. Halifax International Security Forum looks forward to witnessing their growth and their contributions to the field.”
About the Fellowship
The Fellowship is a three-week executive tour for senior active-duty female military officers from NATO member and partner countries. The tour will begin on October 29 and conclude at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum, which will take place November 22-24. Participants will visit Washington DC, Silicon Valley, Toronto, and Ottawa before concluding the program in Halifax.
Fellows will meet with government, military, and thought leaders as they travel through the political and technological capitals of the United States and Canada to deepen their understanding of NATO’s strategic challenges, as well as the cutting-edge technologies transforming the realities of national security. At the Halifax International Security Forum, they will be joined by the alumnae of the inaugural class, further widening the network of leaders through this program.
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For more information, please email fellowship@halifaxtheforum.org.
About Halifax International Security Forum
Halifax International Security Forum is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, DC. Halifax International Security Forum’s flagship program of the same name is North America’s leading foreign affairs and defense conference. Hosted by Canada’s Minister of National Defence and featuring defense ministers from around the world and a Congressional Delegation from the United States, every November Halifax International Security Forum brings together individuals on the ground who face consequential local threats, writers who challenge and influence the world’s thinking on security, and decision-makers who make the tough choices. It takes place in an unscripted, intimate atmosphere over three days in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The community that meets in Halifax is made up of 300 participants from more than 90 countries. Participants include heads of state, ministers, four-star generals, senior government officials, ambassadors, as well as private sector business leaders. Over the past decade, the Forum has become the essential gathering of democratic leaders committed to global security and prosperity.