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.
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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.
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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
Dear Tim Cook – Child Care?
Dear Tim Cook, We’ve never met. I am a partner at Smash Strategies, a firm focused on advancing progress for women and girls. I recently left the U.S. Department of State, where I served in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. I read your recent interview...
read moreGlobalization. Populism. Brexit. Trump. Macron. Relief.
These topics were front and center at the opening session of the Global Female Leaders Summit 4.0, held in Berlin earlier this week. That conversation was the backdrop for two days of fascinating discussions about emerging trends. There were engaging presentations...
read moreWomen’s Economic Empowerment: Measuring Progress & Championing Results
In April, World Bank President Jim Kim and Ivanka Trump made a case in the Financial Times for the importance of closing the gender pay gap, increasing access to finance for women, and enacting regulatory and legal policies to increase women’s economic participation....
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