Women In Defense to celebrate careers launched through HORIZONS awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                            Evamarie Socha

JULY 13, 2017                                                                                                                     (703) 247-2579 

ARLINGTON, VA – Two women whose careers were boosted by the Women In Defense organization will talk about their experiences at the WID HORIZONS Scholarship Celebration, Wed., July 26, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Holland and Knight in Washington.

The cocktail reception will commemorate more than $310,000 awarded to more than 130 women who went to fulfill innovative careers in defense and national security, said Ashley Bunce, WID’s executive director. Reception information and registration is online at www.ndia.org under “events.”

 Speaking about their experiences will be:

• Kathryn Morisy, who graduated in May from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Her scholarship supported her internships in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and the Office of the Secretary of State during her second year of graduate school.
• Linnea Johnson, a part-time Defense Department research specialist. Johnson used her scholarship toward her data science studies at George Washington University, from where she will graduate in May 2018.

 “We look to support those with promising careers in all facets of defense,” Bunce said of the scholarship winners, noting the latest campaign emphasizes women in STEM studies – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – through 19 WID chapters nationwide. Careers in international relations, law and diplomacy, cybersecurity, government relations, linguistics, and national security are among those helped by HORIZONS funds, Bunce said.

Susan Lawrence, senior vice president with Booz Allen Hamilton, also is among speakers and will introduce keynote speaker, Air Force Maj. Gen. Sarah Zabel, vice director of Defense Information Systems Agency.

Booz Allen Hamilton, Holland and Knight, and Lockheed Martin Corp.  are sponsors of the HORIZONS commemoration.  “This event will bring together people in a setting that encourages strategic networking among professionals in all levels of their respective careers,” Bunce said. “We hope attendees are inspired to support WID’s cause of diversity, which is so important to our nation’s
security as well as the next generation of defense workers.”

“I feel strongly about WID’s mission to promote more women in these vital STEM fields,” said retired Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle, president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), of which WID is an affiliate. “We hope by encouraging women to pursue careers in defense, we will enlighten our country’s top talent to the vast opportunities available in the incredibly important field of national security.”

NDIA’s membership includes corporate, government, academia, and men and women who support the defense industrial base, and national security as a whole. www.ndia.org.

For more information on the WID HORIZONS event, contact Tameka Brown  tbrown@ndia.org.