About Stephenie
Stephenie Foster is a founding partner of Smash Strategies, which provides strategic advice to corporations, institutions and philanthropists to ensure that their investments in women and girls are effective and transformational. Stephenie is an inclusive leader, who brings together vision and pragmatism to get results and meet client needs. Based on her unique experiences, she understands the political and policy landscapes relevant to empowering women and girls, and increasing their opportunities for leadership and opportunity.
SPEAKING
Stephenie is a sought-after speaker nationally and internationally on women’s leadership, gender equity, international development and women’s advocacy.
Read More
INTERVIEWS & IN THE NEWS
Stephenie is regularly interviewed on a diverse set of issues, such as investing in women and girls, foreign policy, security and women’s economic and political participation.
Read More
Teaching & Publications
Stephenie is a frequent lecturer on why investing in women and girls is critically important. She has been a Professorial Lecturer at American University’s Women & Politics Institute. She publishes regularly on the importance of investing in women and girls to our foreign policy, women in leadership, women and economic engagement, and women and security. She writes regularly for the Huffington Post and other media outlets.
Featured Blog Posts
MEDIUM BLOG: Women. Drive. Economic. Growth. Period.
When women’s participation in the labor force increases, GDP rises. When women start businesses, communities flourish. When women are promoted to senior management and appointed to corporate boards, companies do better. We ignore this compelling data at our peril....
read moreMEDIUM BLOG: Kuwaiti Women: Forging Forward in Public Life
Kuwaiti women: quick, what image comes to mind? Truthfully, it’s a mixed picture. According to the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, Kuwait ranks 129, of 144 countries, on gender parity overall. Having said that, however, 50 percent of Kuwaiti women are in the labor...
read moreMERIDIAN BLOG: Using the Justice System to Prevent Gender-Based Violence and Protect Women and Children
Police officers, judges, prosecutors, social service workers, and victim advocates are all integral to addressing and combating gender-based violence (GBV), to ensuring that the system protects survivors, and to helping them rebuild their lives. In late March,...
read more