Appointments, Promotions and Awards
WIIS member Ambassador Mary Ann Peters has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of The Carter Center.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced a two-year, $370,000 award to Cornell University for research on Creating Conditions for a Stable Transition to a New Nuclear Order. Judith Reppy (Cornell University) and Catherine M. Kelleher (University of Maryland and the Watson Institute, Brown University) are jointly conducting the project. The project leaders are both graduates of Mt Holyoke College, although they did not meet until years later. Both were founding members of Women in International Security (WIIS), and have been active in seminars on arms control and disarmament issues, nationally and internationally.
Member Interviews
Sa
rah Yerkes, Visiting Foreign Policy Fellow- Center for Middle East Policy at The Brookings Institution
1. How is being a WIIS member valuable to you?
I first joined WIIS about a decade ago when I was just starting out in my career and at that point it was incredibly valuable as a networking tool. I remember attending a WIIS career fair at one point and that was really helpful because there were all sorts of different jobs represented within this field and I was Read More…
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Jolynn Shoemaker, Senior Consultant- Global Business Strategy and Gender Equity at The LcHoesGroup
- How is being a WIIS member valuable to you?
I learned about WIIS when I was in graduate school. I was very fortunate to have mentors who were very involved in the organization. One of the first events I attended was a conference on women in Read More…
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Alistair Millar, Founder and Director of the Global Center on Cooperative Security
Alistair Millar is Founder and Director of the Global Center on Cooperative Security. He teaches graduate-level courses on counterterrorism and U.S. foreign policy at The Johns Hopkins University, where he received the 2010–2011 Excellence in Teaching Award for Advanced Academic Programs. He is also a nonresident Senior Fellow at The George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute. Previously, he has had lecturing posts at The George Washington University and the Department of Homeland Security’s Center of Excellence on the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland. He has written numerous chapters, articles, and reports on international counterterrorism efforts, sanctions regimes, and nonproliferation. He is a coauthor, with Eric Rosand, of Allied Against Terrorism: What’s Needed to Strengthen Worldwide Commitment. He has an MA from Leeds University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom.
Why are you a member of WIIS?
The main reason I support WIIS is because women have an important role in international security but in the world as they are make up half — or slightly more than half of society. The participation of women should reflect the make-up of the society in which we live. Women also reach out to other women, which can have an exponential impact. WIIS helps women all over the world inspire one another. Men have a lot to learn from that.
What do you think is the role of men in advancing women’s leadership in the international peace and security field?
The peace and security field has been traditionally male-dominated—men still hold most of the higher political and research positions. Men need to reach out to women and do more to help give them a chance to gain ground based on merit. It is far better promote people based for what they can do, rather than for who they are. Many women I’ve known and worked with have shown they can do as much as or more than men in the same or higher positions, but they are still not always getting the recognition they deserve. Men can help validate the merit of what women can bring to the table.
Do you have any female role models in this field?
I have many. On example that comes to mind is Dr. Rebecca Johnson from the Acronym Institute has marshaled her skills as an analyst and communicator in the field of non-proliferation. When I worked in that field I was in awe of her abilities. Then I look at recent Secretaries of State, I may not always have agreed with Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice or Hilary Clinton, but the clarity of their vision and their hard work is inspiring and, dare I say, puts many men in similar positions to shame. Also, I would like to see increased awareness of the important roles women play in countries in other parts of the world where they may be facing difficult challenges as women in high-profile position, in or out of government; WIIS is really helping to raise that awareness.