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
Women in Stem: Critical to Innovation
This article first appeared in the Global Policy Journal. Our world faces multiple challenges: fragility of economic and political systems, cold and hot wars, cyberattacks and extremism, and disruptions caused by climate change. We need every tool to understand these...
read moreMEDIUM: Hitting the Road: Women and Entrepreneurship
This blog originally appeared on Medium. 52 women (and one man) from 53 countries. 11 cities. 21 days. Is this a formula for a reality show? It’s not. It’s a snapshot of the itinerary for a recent U.S. State Department International Visitor Leadership Program...
read moreMEDIUM: Voting is a Right, Not a Privilege
Originally published on Medium. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. While voting is a right, for many Americans, exercising their right to vote is challenging and difficult. We need to reframe our approach to voting and structure our electoral systems to make...
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