10th Annual COIR Symposium
October 16, 2026
“Resilient Women in Global Careers”
Tentative schedule:
9:00 Registration opens
9:15 – 9:30 Welcome from Symposium MC Katelyn Choe
9:30 – 10:15 Keynote Remarks – Faith Akovi Cooper, Executive Director, United Nations Association of the USA
10:20 – 10:45 Coffee break/Recruiter table visits
10:45 – 10:55 Move to conference rooms for breakout sessions
11:00 – 11:50 Breakout Sessions
#1: Overcoming Challenges to Women in Peace-Building and National Security
*Hon. Michele J. Sison; Director, Washington Office, International Organization for Migration; former U.S. Ambassador to Haiti
*Hon. Julie Chung; Vice President, ICS2; former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka
*Elise Young; Co-founder/Co-CEO, Women Rising International
+Moderator: Miranda Cohen; Executive Director, AWIU
#2: Resourcing Women-Led Community Development
*Zeenia Irani; Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives; FINCA International
*Susan Markham; Consultant and former USAID Senior Coordinator for Gender Equity and Women’s Empowerment
*Farah Eck; Managing Director, United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA)
+Moderator: Allison Dower; Director of Workforce Excellence, American Bankers Association
#3: Equipping Women to Lead in an AI-Impacted World
*Arbana Xharra; Investigative Journalist, 2015 International Woman of Courage
*Alina Potts; Principal Investigator, The Global Women’s Institute, George Washington University
*(TBC) Facia Boyenoh Harris; Women’s Rights Advocate, 2022 International Woman of Courage, co-founder of Paramount Young Women Initiative
+Moderator: Lida Noory; Former Chief of Staff, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Industrial Innovation Division
11:50 – 12:15 Coffee break/Recruiter table visits
12:15 – 12:25 Move to auditorium for career panel
12:30 – 1:30 Panel/Empowered Resilience: Uncovering Career and Professional Opportunities
*Jennifer Erie; former USAID gender and health specialist, author and cultural storyteller
*Lindsay Burr; Senior Fellow, George Washington University, Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (GW CEPL); and Chief Executive Officer, Yarbrough Group
*Sara Jones; Director, American University, Career Education & Employer Relations, School of International Service Career Development
+Moderator: Nancy Annick; Past President, AWIU
1:30 – 1:40 Closing remarks from AWIU President Noelle Newton
1:40 – 2:00 Networking and recruiter visits
Breakout Sessions:
1. Overcoming Challenges to Women in Peace-Building and National Security: Women face significant challenges in peace and security efforts, including underrepresentation in formal peace processes, persistent gender-based violence, and systemic barriers to leadership roles. The global security landscape is currently defined by historic levels of armed conflict and democratic backsliding, which disproportionately endanger women and girls while simultaneously eroding the protections meant to safeguard them. Despite their critical contributions to peacebuilding, women often remain marginalized in decision-making which undermines the effectiveness of peace initiatives. This session will cover what’s being done to increase the involvement of women in formal decision-making roles in peace processes and strengthen their contributions to lasting peace through civil society engagement.
2. Resourcing Women-Led Community Development: Over the past year, the global funding ecosystem has entered a period of upheaval unlike anything seen in decades. The collapse of U.S. foreign assistance channels, rising geopolitical instability, and tightening risk tolerance across philanthropy have converged to reshape how funding moves — and who has access to it. This session will examine current challenges for women-led community development currently defined by closed doors to funding and the innovative approaches being adopted to opening them.
3. Equipping Women to Lead in an AI-Impacted World: AI is already being used both to empower and to target women, from enhancing advocacy and early warning systems to enabling harassment through deepfakes and disinformation. An important question is whether AI development benefits women globally or widens existing inequalities. A gender-equity approach considers whether women have equal access to AI-enabled education, financial services, agricultural technologies, business tools and digital infrastructure. There are signs that AI-powered surveillance technologies may affect women differently, particularly survivors of domestic violence, human rights defenders, journalists, and political and community leaders. Furthermore, AI systems can reproduce or amplify existing gender biases if they are trained on historical data that reflects unequal treatment of women. This session will consider how AI governance can ensure that innovation advances women's economic opportunity, safety, representation, and rights rather than reinforcing existing inequalities. The discussion will cover the tools, training, and safeguards needed to support women operating in today’s AI-impacted environment.
Career Panel:
Empowered Resilience: Uncovering Career and Professional Opportunities: The job market for professionals in international relations, global development, diplomacy, and humanitarian assistance is experiencing one of its most challenging periods in decades. Significant reductions in U.S. foreign assistance, combined with the dismantling of major development programs and the elimination of thousands of positions previously supported by USAID, have created widespread disruption throughout international relations careers. The impact extends far beyond federal government employment. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international development contractors, think tanks, and multilateral organizations have all been affected by the sharp decline in U.S.-funded programs. Many organizations have reduced staff, frozen hiring, and canceled projects. As a result, graduates with IR career aspirations and experienced professionals are competing for a shrinking number of positions. The panelists will discuss strategies for finding career opportunities and continuing to develop professional skills, while remaining resilient and forward-looking.
