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LCWINS

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THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL FOR
WOMEN IN NATIONAL SECURITY

WeBINAR SERIES

Preparing women to navigate the political appointments process

Current Webinars

We are excited to announce LCWINS’ first webinars of 2021

SESSION

1

:

Caregiving and National Security Leadership

January 14, 2021 1:00 PM

SESSION

2

:

Leading for Change: Kicking off an Administration

January 27, 2021 2:00 PM

Coming Soon Webinars

While the dates and times have yet to be confirmed, LCWINS will host webinars on the following topics in early 2021:

SESSION

:

Managing Diversity as a Political Appointee

SESSION

:

New Agendas: Congress

SESSION

:

Commissions, Advisory Committees and Boards: Part-Time Political Appointments

Past Webinars: The Political Appointment Process

In a series of six webinars, LCWINS demystifies the political appointments process. Through our diverse array of speakers, we hope to prepare women interested in Senate-confirmed roles to put their names forward, support their candidacy effectively, and successfully navigate Senate confirmation. All who are interested are welcome to attend, but the sessions will focus on women's preparation for political appointment in senior roles.

These webinars were conducted in the fall of 2020, leading up to the election. Click on the links below to see the webinar (Session 1, 2, 3, and 5 were recorded) and notes and other links associated with each topic.

Another invaluable resource is the Partnership for Public Service Center for Presidential Transition’s Ready to Serve website.

SESSION

1

:

LCWINS Webinar Series Kickoff: How to Succeed in the Political Appointments Process

This session was conducted on

August 23, 2020

SESSION

2

:

Political Appointment 101: Process and Organizations

This session was conducted on

September 1, 2020

SESSION

3

:

Political Ambassadorships: Special Considerations

This session was conducted on

September 8, 2020

SESSION

4

:

Vetting, Security Clearances & Ethics: Preparing Now to be Successful Later

This session was conducted on

September 15, 2020

SESSION

5

:

The Senate Confirmation Process: It’s Not Over Until It’s Over

This session was conducted on

September 21, 2020

SESSION

6

:

Race, Racism, Intersectionality and Political Appointment

This session was conducted on

October 2, 2020

stay up to date

In a series of six webinars, LCWINS will demystify the political appointments process. Through our diverse array of speakers, we will prepare women interested in Senate-confirmed roles to put their names forward, support their candidacy effectively, and successfully navigate Senate confirmation. All who are interested are welcome to attend, but the sessions will focus on women's preparation for political appointment in senior roles.

See below for more information about our six sessions.  We hope you will join us!  

‍Webinar information will be updated as we confirm speakers and dates.

Before attending these webinars, we strongly recommend you read through everything available on the Partnership for Public Service Center for Presidential Transition’s Ready to Serve website.

SESSION 1:

LCWINS Webinar Series Kickoff: How to Succeed in the Political Appointments Process

This Session was conducted on August 24, 2020

Each of the amazing women featured on this panel has served at the highest level of our government, each in multiple Presidentially-appointed positions. During this kick-off to our webinar series, we will hear advice from each of them about how to navigate the political appointments process. This overarching and high-level view of the political appointments process will provide the foundation and inspiration for those who seek to learn more. Please don't forget to sign up to ask a question below - this is an incredible opportunity to hear from some truly impressive women and we are so grateful for their support of our webinar series!

REGISTER HERESUBMIT A QUESTION
WATCH HERE
HIDE VIDEO

Speakers:‍

Dina Powell McCormick

Dina Powell McCormick

  • Partner & Managing Committee, Goldman Sachs
  • Former Deputy National Security Advisor and Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel
Ambassador Wendy Sherman

Ambassador Wendy Sherman

  • Director, Center for Public Leadership and Professor of Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Former Under Secretary of State of State for Political Affairs and Acting Deputy Secretary of State
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

  • Distinguished Professor of the Practice at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Nunn School of International Affairs
  • Former Deputy Secretary of Energy and former White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering WMD, and Arms Control
Eileen Donahoe

Moderator: 
Ambassador Eileen Donahoe

  • Executive Director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center
  • Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva

SESSION 2:

Political Appointment 101: Process and Organizations

This Session was conducted on September 1, 2020

This session is an overview of the political appointments process from former officials responsible for Presidential appointments.  This session will answer all of your basic questions. We will cover the Transition personnel process and Presidential Personnel process and how they differ. We will also discuss which jobs are Senate-confirmed and what special considerations go into filling those positions. The entire timeline will be discussed, including: indicating your interest, how to improve your chances of nomination, the vetting process, the Senate confirmation process, and what happens after you are confirmed.

During this session, we were not able to get to all of the important questions raised in the Q&A. After you finish watching the webinar below, please check out our webpage of follow-up Notes and Q&A.

SEE THE NOTESSUBMIT A QUESTION
SEE THE NOTES
WATCH HERE
HIDE VIDEO

Speakers:‍

Shelly Stoneman

Shelly Stoneman

  • Vice President for Executive Branch and International Government Relations, BAE Systems, Inc.
  • Former Department of Defense White House Liaison
Jonathan McBride

Jonathan McBride

  • Former Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity, BlackRock
  • Former Deputy Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel
Heather Samuelson

Heather Samuelson

  • General Counsel, National Domestic Workers Alliance
  • Former Chief Counsel, Clinton-Kaine Transition & State Department White House Liaison

Mackenzie Eaglen

  • Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
  • Former Romney Transition Official

Moderator:
Felicia Escobar Carrillo

  • Director of Immigration, The Beacon Fund
  • Former Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy, White House Domestic Policy Council

SESSION 3:

Political Ambassadorships: Special Considerations

This Session was conducted on September 8, 2020

In this session we will learn from former Ambassadors about the process of being appointed to an Ambassadorship and how to be successful upon confirmation. The role of Ambassadors is special and unique. Many are selected from the foreign service, but each Administration will also select some political appointees from outside the State Department to fill these roles. The session will address the entire timeline of the appointments process, including how to be selected, special considerations for vetting and Senate confirmation, and what happens upon confirmation.

During the webinar, Ambassador Kennedy provided a this amazing list of resources for women who are interested in learning more!

WATCH HERE
HIDE VIDEO

Speakers:‍

Bonnie Jenkins

Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins

  • Founder and President, Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS)
  • Former State Department Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs, with the rank of Ambassador
Laura Kennedy

Ambassador Laura Kennedy

  • Director, Foreign Policy 4 America
  • Former Ambassador to Turkmenistan and to the Conference on Disarmament (retired Foreign Service Officer)
Susan Page

Ambassador Susan Page

  • Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
  • Former Ambassador to South Sudan
Beth Van Schaack

Moderator:
Beth Van Schaack

  • Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor in Human Rights, Stanford Law School
  • Former Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues

SESSION 4:

Vetting, Security Clearances & Ethics: Preparing Now to be Successful Later

This Session was conducted on September 15, 2020. We did not record this Session.

This session will focus on the vetting process and information that must be disclosed during the process. We will discuss the SF-86 (security clearance form) and the security clearance process as well as the OGE 278 (financial disclosure form) and financial vetting. In addition, we will cover standard vetting questions, including tax history, criminal history, and employment history and other questions such as how social media and publication history come into play. The aim of this session is to provide participants now with the information and tips they need to prepare early, so the vetting process can be as efficient as possible. Before this session, please take a look at the forms linked above and the Ready to Serve website.

This session was not recorded, but we have drafted a page with Notes and Q&A from the session.

SEE THE NOTESSUBMIT A QUESTION

Speakers:

Andrew Borene

Andrew Borene

  • Managing Director, U.S. Public Sector, Cybereason
  • Former Associate Deputy General Counsel at Dept. of Defense, former Marine Corps Intelligence and Special Security Officer (SSO)
Doug Kramer

Doug Kramer

  • General Counsel, CloudFlare
  • Former Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary (Manager, White House Vetting Operation)
Roynda Hartsfield

Moderator:
Roynda Hartsfield

  • Director of Talent Acquisition, Excel Technologies, Inc.
  • Former Chief of Digital Innovation Hiring, CIA

SESSION 5:

The Senate Confirmation Process: It’s Not Over Until It’s Over

This Session was conducted on September 21, 2020.

The political appointments process does not end with nomination - that is only the beginning!  In this session we will focus on how to successfully navigate the Senate confirmation process. Our speakers will provide advice on filling out questions for the record (QFRs) and about testifying in front of Congress during a confirmation hearing. They will also discuss the process and timeline in depth, and describe ways that political appointments can be jeopardized in the Senate and what can be done to prevent it.

WATCH HERE
HIDE VIDEO

Speakers:

Lori Robinson

Lori Robinson

  • General Lori Robinson, USAF (Ret.)
  • Former Commander, U.S. Northern Command
Ann Elise Sauer

Ann Elise Sauer

  • Senior Partner, ISM Strategies
  • Former Republican Staff Director, Senate Armed Services Committee
Algene Sajery

Algene Sajery

  • Founder and CEO of Catalyst Global Strategies, LLC
  • Former Democratic Policy Director, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Jamie Jones Miller

Moderator:
Jamie Jones Miller

  • Senior Advisor, The Roosevelt Group
  • Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs

SESSION 6:

Race, Racism, Intersectionality and Political Appointment

October 2, 2020 | Time: 3pm ET / 12pm PT

Historically, political appointees have been disproportionately white and male as compared with the U.S. population.  Our entire webinar series will address gender, and we hope to address intersectional issues throughout the series as well. However, we wanted to create a specific space to inform future political appointees about the important considerations of race and intersectionality in the political appointments process. We encourage allies and people interested in expanding their understanding of these issues to attend this webinar. Anyone who ascends to national security leadership will need to be culturally competent to address these issues.

This session will not be recorded. Outcomes or recommendations from the session will be reported out without attribution under Chatham House Rules.

See the notesSUBMIT A QUESTION

Speakers:

Linda Etim

Linda Etim

  • Former Assistant Administrator for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development
Lauri Fitz-Pegado

Lauri Fitz-Pegado

  • Consultant, LFP INC
  • Former Assistant Secretary and Director General, U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce
M. Tia Johnson

M. Tia Johnson

  • Visiting Professor of Law; Director, National Security Law LL.M Program, Georgetown Law Center
  • Former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Legislative Affairs, Retired U.S. Army JAG
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley

Moderator:
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley

  • Diplomat in Residence, Oberlin College
  • Former Ambassador to Malta and retired Foreign Service Officer
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