Brooke Stedman

Brooke Stedman is the Deputy Director of Women In International Security where she develops and implements programs focused on global challenges related to women, peace, and security. In this capacity, she advises international organizations, governments, and militaries how to operationalize a gender approach in security policies, programs, and operations. Stedman was also a National Security Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies from 2016 to 2017. Prior to joining WIIS, she worked at the International Criminal Court and International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as a legal assistant. Stedman also worked for the United States Institute of Peace where she developed gender programming to ensure the full participation of women in conflict and post-conflict societies. In this role, Stedman partnered with civil society organizations to develop capacity building programs focused on the economic and political empowerment of women in conflict-affected countries. More specifically, she worked extensively on the development of the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and helped facilitate the U.S. Civil Society Working Group. Stedman holds an LLM in International Human Rights and Criminal Law from Utrecht University and a BA in Criminology and Law from Marquette University. Her research interests include sexual and gender-based violence in conflict settings, the role of women in peacebuilding, transitional justice and security issues, and counter-terrorism initiatives.