About Stephenie Foster
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
JUST SECURITY: Transforming the US Human Rights Report to Reflect Gender Rights — and Security
By Stephenie Foster and Susan Markham This article first appeared in Just Security. President Joe...
From Just Security: Reviving the US Commitment to Women’s Rights and Gender Equality: The UN Commission on the Status of Women
Originally published in Just Security, December 15, 2020 By Susan Markham and Stephenie Foster...
From CFR: Gender Advisors Key to Effective Policy
The proposed revisions to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Gender Equality...
Diplomatic Courier: COVID-19 DEMANDS WE RETHINK GENDER ROLES
This piece originally appeared in Diplomatic Courier; its co-authors are Stephenie Foster and...
SJ Mercury News – Opinion: Siri’s #MeToo responses show why tech needs women
My opinion piece appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on October 9, 2019. The Guardian recently...
OUR SECURE FUTURE BLOG: NOTES FROM THE FIELD: WOMEN PEACE & SECURITY EXPERTS WEIGH IN
Our Notes From The Field series has been designed to highlight the opinions and advice of Women,...
HONOR THE SUFFRAGISTS BY FIGHTING FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Today, more women than men vote in the United States. For example, in the 2016 election, 55...
Japan Times: Why Women are Central to Addressing Climate Change
Here's my most recent blog on women and climate change. I am grateful to the Japan Times for...
MEDIUM Blog: Walking the Walk on Diversity, Inclusion and Accountability: Beyond #MeToo
This post originally appeared on Medium. Late last week, Nature Conservancy CEO Mark Tercek...
MEDIUM: Women Must Be Part of the Afghan Peace Process
Afghan women are leaders. They are central to building strong Afghan institutions and legal...
MEDIUM: March 8: For Many Women and Girls, It’s Just Another Day
March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is International Women’s Day. During March, we mark the...
Women in Stem: Critical to Innovation
This article first appeared in the Global Policy Journal. Our world faces multiple challenges:...