Dear Members and Supporters of the WIIS Community,

WELCOME TO THE NEW WIIS DATABASE!

Since WIIS relocated to CSIS in 2011, we have been working on our “behind-the-scenes” infrastructure, including creating an interactive platform for our members and supporters. When we left Georgetown University, the database, which has been so essential to members to connect with each other, had to be deactivated. We have heard from many of you that this platform is a fundamental asset to reach out to peers in your expertise areas, facilitate new mentoring relationships, and grow your professional network. We are happy to inform you that we have collaborated with CSIS to create a new tool to continue offering this service.  

Since this database is new, the membership profiles from our former database had to be deleted and you will be asked to create a new profile detailing your professional background, areas of expertise and interests. 

We are also instituting a new annual subscriber fee of $55 to access this database and receive associated benefits described below. As you are aware, WIIS is responsible for paying for its own operational costs at CSIS and the subscriber fee will offset the costs of providing these services. The fee and any additional donations you make to WIIS are tax-deductible.
The $55 annual fee allows you to:

• Be part of a community of peers who value and support women contributions, participation, and gender awareness in the peace and security field.
• Create a personalized profile and access a new, customized database of WIIS members to support your virtual networking.
• Build mentoring relationships with WIIS experts and peers in our network, conveniently and quickly accessible via the database.
• Have the opportunity to be recommended by WIIS as experts for professional opportunities such as public speaking, media appearances, and consultancies by creating a profile with your expertise in the database.
• Be invited to pre-register for select WIIS events and leadership development programs where space is limited.
• Receive the WIIS JobsHotline, which includes jobs, internships, fellowships, conferences, and courses.
• Receive the WIIS This Week e-newsletter that includes information on WIIS activities, public events, and opportunities of interest to the WIIS community worldwide.
• Receive the WIIS Quarterly e-newsletterthat highlights WIIS programs, profiles the activities of WIIS groups around the world, and shares news about member accomplishments.

WIIS non-subscribers will continue to receive the monthly WIIS director’s note and general invitations for events open to the public.

We are grateful for your patience during these past months and are very much looking forward to launching this new database and reviving the interconnectivity of the WIIS community!

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at wiisinfo@csis.org.

Warm wishes,
 

Jolynn Shoemaker                                 Marie-Laure Poiré

Director, WIIS                                          Program Manager, WIIS

WIIS privacy setting:

If you do not wish anybody (expect yourself, your selected friends and WIIS administrators) to access your profile information, please select "Just My Friends" as your visibility option in your profile settings or follow these instructions: PrivacyTutorial.pdf

If you select "Members", everybody in the WIIS network will be able to view your profile.  Your contact information as well as your areas of expertise will be searchable by others for networking, information and mentoring purposes.

On January 18, WIIS and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) formally kicked off WIIS' 25th anniversary and launched our new affiliation with a special event featuring Michèle Flournoy, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Samantha Power, Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs at the National Security Council, in a unique conversation moderated by Nina Easton, Washington Bureau Chief for Fortune Magazine. 

Flournoy and Power discussed a wide array of topics, including the release of the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, U.S. foreign and defense policy issues, and challenges and opportunities for women pursuing careers in the international security field.  Due to space constraints for this particular event, we were unable to open it to the general WIIS membership.  However, the event was taped to allow our entire community to benefit from the candid discussion. We invite you to watch and/or listen to the remarks on our website.  It was truly an honor to host these three inspiring women, and it was a perfect conversation to launch our exciting new partnership with CSIS.

With, from the left, Nina Easton, Washington Bureau Chief for Fortune Magazine, Michèle Flournoy, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Samantha Power, Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs at the National Security Council.