Stephenie Foster

Stephenie Foster is a women’s rights advocate with extensive experience in government, policy and law. She is a recognized voice on the critical importance of women’s leadership and a thought leader on feminist foreign policy and transformative women’s initiatives. Foster is a founding partner of Smash Strategies, a firm dedicated to advising businesses, foundations and nonprofit organizations on how to achieve better results by focusing on women’s leadership and gender equality.

After the fall of Kabul and through early 2023, Foster returned to the U.S. Department of State, focusing on Afghan relocation with a mandate to prioritize the needs of women and girls. She previously served at the Department of State from 2012 to 2017 as senior adviser and counselor to the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, S/GWI, and at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she focused on women and civil society.

In the S/GWI office, Foster managed a wide range of key policies and programs, including the women, peace and security initiative, women’s political participation and women’s economic empowerment. As a senior official, she represented the U.S. in multilateral and bilateral forums. In Afghanistan, she traveled extensively to work with individuals and organizations advancing the role of women in Afghan society.

Foster served as chief of staff to U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn). She was appointed general counsel of the U.S. General Services Administration, founded her own consulting firm and served in senior management positions in the nonprofit sector. She began her career as an attorney and was a litigation partner in San Francisco, California.

Foster is an author and sought-after public speaker. Her first book, "Take Action: Fighting for Women & Girls," was published in October 2021. Her second book, co-authored with Susan Markham, "Feminist Foreign Policy in Theory and Practice," was published in September 2023.

Foster serves on the board of Foreign Policy for America, where she chairs the Political Committee, and on the board of the Mead Center for Performing Arts, Arena Stage. She continues to dedicate her time to being a women’s rights advocate.