Samantha Turner is a Nonresident Fellow at The Stimson Center in its Peace Operations and Protecting Civilians in Conflict Programs. She is an expert in practical policies and procedures for the future of warfare as well as human rights best practices within NATO. Samantha most recently served as Senior Advisor to USAID’s Gender office in the Biden-Harris Administration. Before USAID, Samantha served in the U.S. Department of Defense as the first head of the US European Command’s Women, Peace, and Security Program, directly advising the command, the US Military Representative to NATO, and the Chair of the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives. Her program management, communications practices, training methods, and policies were recognized as best practices of how to run a successful WPS office within the DoD and followed by other commands, allies, and partners globally.
During her time with the Biden-Harris Administration, Samantha served as a humanitarian advisor on the ground in the evacuation of 35,000 Afghan, American and Canadian citizens, advising the U.S. interagency during Operation Allies Welcome on Ramstein Airbase in Germany. As a Senior Advisor to USAID, she co-led initiatives on the U.S.national strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, Summit for Democracy Women’s Leadership initiatives, and the administration of $116M GEEA fund. From 2020-2021 served as a democracy analyst in USAID’s Democracy Human Rights and Governance center administering the $10M Civil Society Sustainability Index. From 2017 to 2020 She served as the Command Gender Advisor to the US European Command and oversaw the establishment and administration of the command’s first interagency women, peace, and security program. From 2016 to 2017 She led the establishment, administration, and operation of a 600-person movement control battalion. From 2014 to 2016, Samantha was Deputy Chief of Staff Engineer for the 7th Mission Support Command, where she was responsible for over 50 facilities across Germany and Italy. Prior to and in tandem with her civilian service, she served for over a decade as an officer in the US Army, specializing in engineering, civil affairs, and interagency coordination and she led a 52-soldier construction unit during Operation New Dawn. A civil engineer by training, she was the Chief U.S. Engineer at the NATO School Oberammergau from 2013 to 2015, where she oversaw the U.S. troop construction program, saving the U.S. government over $6M in U.S. labor costs over 9 projects that directly benefited the multinational military community. She also commanded the 243rd Engineer Detachment (CMT), preparing its equipment and Soldiers for a deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
A recognized expert on gender in military operations, Samantha has testified at NATO HQ on the implementation of Women, Peace, and Security during NATO’s operations before the Deputies Meeting on lessons learned from ISAF/RS missions. In addition, she is an internationally sought after speaker and facilitator on inclusive leadership, gender equality, and the practical implications of diversity equity and inclusion. She has guest lectured at Tufts University, West Point, and the National Defense University. Notably, she was a selected speaker for South by Southwest 2020, and has run workshops for multiple heads of state and chiefs of defense, on 4 continents, assisting allies and partners in implementing gender equality in their national and local contexts.
Samantha earned her BS in Civil Engineering from the US Military Academy at West Point and her MS in Civil Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology. She has also received certificates from Stanford Graduate School of Business and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Publications:
- Integrating Gender Perspective in Military Exercises, Nordic Center for Gender in Military Operations, 2021.
- Framework for a Gender Analysis: COVID-19 Crisis Response, self-published
- EUCOM Senior Leader Engagement: Preparing for, and Recognizing Elevator pitch Opportunities. Peace & Stability Journal, Volume 8, Issue 2 · Aug 3, 2018. A Playbook for Feminist Foreign Policy. Journal: Disrupted/ The Centre For Feminist Foreign Policy. Jan 1, 2018.
