July 13, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
At two years, LCWINS adds prestigious names to its Executive Committee and holds itself accountable when it comes to diversity
The Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS) is proud to add four distinguished leaders in national security to its Executive Committee and supplement our leadership council with a diverse roster of women national security leaders.
As the organization matures, we are holding ourselves accountable to include diversity within our leadership ranks in all its forms -- race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and political stripes. We believe we must look within if we are going to ask the Biden-Harris Administration to be responsible when it comes to gender parity and diversity within its ranks.
Our numbers show that our Leadership Council is 22 percent women of color and 18 percent of whom affiliate themselves with the GOP. More than half the women added to the LCWINS Leadership Council over the past year are women of color, three call themselves Republican, and one person identifies as LGBTQ. We believe in transparency, as that is the only way to improve.
LCWINS knows that through bipartisanship and gender diversity we can fulfill the vision of our work. We acknowledge that we have work to do, which is why we created the LCWINS' Action Plan 2021. This will help guide our approach to diversity and anti-racism. We are at a unique moment in time when racial equity and gender parity are top of mind and a guiding policy principle for the current administration.
As LCWINS supports and tracks implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitments around gender parity, and supports women preparing to take on these critical roles, these four deeply experienced senior national security professionals will be an immense asset to our mandate by serving on the Executive Committee.
These distinguished leaders include:
Meanwhile, three leading voices on LCWINS’ Executive Committee have recently resigned to join the Biden-Harris administration’s national security team. LCWINS thanks Mieke Eoyang, Amb. Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley and Algene Sajery for their sage guidance during LCWINS growth spurt. They are now part of our growing roster of impressive alumni, 23 of whom are now serving in the Biden-Harris administration. Jamie Jones Miller and Shelly Stoneman continue to serve as Co-Chairs of the Executive Committee.
LCWINS is also proud to announce three new names to its Honorary Advisory Committee, which includes national security leaders who have served at the highest level in the U.S. government. They include: Courtney Elwood (former CIA General Counsel), General Lori Robinson, USAF (Ret.), and Suzanne Spaulding (former Under Secretary of Homeland Security). These seasoned leaders will lend their knowledge and insight to LCWINS as it continues to grow.
LCWINS launched in June 2019 with nearly 100 bipartisan national security professionals dedicated to ensuring that women, in all their diversity, have equal space at the policy-making table. In 2020, the organization delivered the names of more than 900 well-qualified, diverse women ready to serve in senior foreign policy and national security roles, in addition to other activities.
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The Leadership Council for Women in National Security improves national security by ensuring that women, in all their diversity, have equal space at the policy-making table. LCWINS is an organization of women and allies from across the political spectrum working to advance gender inclusion at the highest levels of the U.S. national security and foreign policy workforce. LCWINS is fiscally sponsored by the Pacific Council on International Policy, a 501(c)(3).
For more information, contact: Press@lcwins.org or visit https://www.lcwins.org/