Introducing Stephanie Somerman, our newest addition to the Center staff who joins the team as the new Associate Director of Development. Meet Stephanie:
While working for two years on the Pentagon Budget Campaign, a project of the Center/Council, and closely with Angela on the Campaign’s steering committee, I am eager to now split my time, lending a hand to the Center/Council development team. I have sat just down the hall from most of the staff and work closely with Laicie and John on the Pentagon spending issue. I am looking forward to diving deeper into all areas the Center/Council work on and finding innovative ways to have an impact in the larger peace and security community. This includes seeking out new sources of funding and different angles we can take, building on the strong foundation of advocacy and policy the Center/Council have built over the past half a century. Although double duty is tough, I am glad to be able continue to support the Pentagon Budget Campaign coalition in addition to this new role.
I arrived in DC a little over two years ago after 27 months as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine. Living in southern Ukraine, I worked with two small NGOs to further develop their organizational capacity including writing grants, project design and management plus strategic planning. My background is in non-profit management with a focus on policy/advocacy based non-profits. As an alumnus of the University of Michigan and Ford School of Public Policy where I received my Masters in Public Policy, I also ran a small non-profit research firm at the University where I wrote and implemented with a team of students large scale grant projects from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Census Bureau. I am also a proud founding member of the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network at the University of Michigan where I worked with my fellow students to write and advocate for student policy solutions to local and federal problems.
With a rich experience in leading, organizing and developing non-profits, I am happy to tackle new challenges. I hope to take this opportunity to grow my development and operational skills further and build toward a more peaceful national security strategy.
