Media Release: New Executive Director of Women Forward International

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dr. Kent Davis-Packard, Founder and President

JULIA NESHEIWAT APPOINTED NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF WOMEN FORWARD INTERNATIONAL

Having served for more than 20 years in four U.S. Presidential administrations, Dr. Nesheiwat brings expertise in the promotion of women empowerment to energy, environment, climate, national security and human rights.

Washington, DC, New York, New York, and San Francisco, California. July 12, 2022. Women Forward International (WFI), the global non-profit that is building creative partnerships to bring about unity, collaboration and service to humanity, has appointed Julia Nesheiwat to the position of Executive Director. Nesheiwat is a recognized expert in energy, environment, climate, and national security issues as a public servant, academic, former military officer, and U.S. diplomat. She is presently a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a non-partisan group of "foreign policy change-makers" and served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, working with indigenous communities and advising the White House and Congress.

Nesheiwat brings unique experiences having served over 20 years in public service, holding key positions in the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations. In 2019-2020 as Florida’s first Chief Resilience Officer, she launched a new office dedicated to addressing the environmental, physical, and economic impacts of climate change for the state. She has also studied the specific effects of energy and environmental policy on women.

In announcing the appointment, Kent Davis-Packard, President of Women Forward International commented, “At this time when the world is in need of non-partisan leadership on one of the most significant issues of this age, Julia brings WFI her breadth of understanding of what it takes to make real and lasting change now.”

Nesheiwat brings to Women Forward International a long history of public service and collaboration with the international community. A former U.S. Army combat veteran, she served multiple consecutive tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, she helped build the first Energy Resources Bureau, and later was appointed in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security & Resilience. Previously, she served as the Chief of Staff to U.S. Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy and the Under Secretary for Energy, Environment, & Business.

She holds a doctorate in Science and Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, where her dissertation focused on “Post-Disaster Reconstruction in Technology & Resiliency." She has a master's degree from the Edmund H. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology also focused on women, culture, and religion from Stetson University. Nesheiwat was a visiting professor at the Naval Post Graduate School, and has lectured at Stanford University and the University of California San Diego.

Nesheiwat also served on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Advisory Council on low carbon energy transformation and is a life member with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She sits on a number of corporate and non-profit advisory boards and regularly publishes articles on global security issues.

Davis-Packard added, “I cannot think of a better leader for our organization. Julia’s competence, experience, and shared vision for WFI’s mission to put compassion, unity, and love first in human relations will enable WFI to advance women to the next level.”

ABOUT WOMEN FORWARD INTERNATIONAL (WFI): (www.womenforwardinternational.org)

WFI is an internationally recognized nonprofit with the United Nations as its primary partner. It brings together the next generation from leading schools including Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Columbia, Tec de Monterrey, Sciences Po, Georgetown, Berkeley with influential global organizations such as NATO, HRH Prince Charles of Wales' Sustainable Food Trust, and nonprofits in Afghanistan on research to advance women. It then supports the implementation of their best ideas, making lasting changes to improve societies in the near and long-term. Launched at the Aspen Institute and becoming an independent 501(c)3 in 2019, WFI’s current programs include empowering women artisans in conflict zones, enabling sustainable farming with gender equity and taking steps toward the elimination of hunger along with inclusive access to education through digital and other unique platforms. WFI also uses the reflective power of Art to reveal and investigate the underlying cultural issues at stake in a given international relations issue. It thus provides the next generation of global leaders with a more holistic approach to human relationships.

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