Please join the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) on December 2, 2020 as it hosts a discussion on the future of Afghanistan and the role of Afghan women promoting lasting change to their Nation, through the lens of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) imperatives.

An enduring U.S legacy, AUAF is dedicated to educate the next generation of Afghan leaders. Women’s economic empowerment is a cornerstone of its mission. Since its inception in 2006, AUAF has graduated nearly 1,500 students—600 of whom are women. A remarkable achievement considering the University started with only 53 students: 52 males and 1 female. Today, female students comprise 45% of the student body. AUAF’s alumnae occupy some of the highest positions in the public and private sector; and the university continues to design and implement innovative programs that seek to address future gaps in the economic and political sectors.

Afghan women provide tremendous potential for a brighter, more democratic future in Afghanistan.

Please join General John Nicholson and other speakers to discuss AUAF’s strategy to advance women’s participation in Afghan society. Using the WPS Strategy as our guide, we will discuss: Building a critical future work force, Promotion of rule of law and democracy via AUAF’s Stanford Law Degree Program, Women’s economic empowerment, and closing the gender gaps in the labor force.

GENERAL JOHN W. NICHOLSON, JR., USA (RETIRED)

President, PenFed Foundation

General Nicholson is a retired United States Army four-star general whose service to our Nation spanned 36 years. He last commanded all US Forces and the 41 Nation NATO Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, distinguishing himself as one of America's most combat seasoned four-star generals with over six years in combat.

As an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, General Nicholson commanded at all levels from company command in the 75th Ranger Regiment to command of the 82nd Airborne Division and NATO's Allied Land Command. The majority of his time as a general officer was spent in joint, interagency and multinational roles, achieving success in conditions of high complexity and risk.

He is a graduate of both Georgetown University and West Point where he was First Captain of the Corps of Cadets. He is a senior mentor to rising US flag officers in the National Defense University CAPSTONE Program and is adjunct faculty on leadership at Harvard University's Kennedy School. He is a member of the Harvard's Elbe Group, which maintains a track two dialogue between senior retired Russian and American military and intelligence officials.

Since he became the President of the PenFed Foundation, it has been recognized as the top non-profit in the Washington DC region and among the top nationwide for helping service members, veterans and their families to realize financial stability and opportunity.

Ambassador Kelley Currie

Ambassador-At-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Office of Global Women’s Issues U.S. Department of State

Ambassador Currie was appointed Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues by President Trump in December 2019. She serves simultaneously as the U.S. Representative at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Prior to her appointment, she led the Department of State’s Office of Global Criminal Justice (2019) and served under Ambassador Nikki Haley as the United States’ Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council and Alternative Representative to the UN General Assembly (2017-2018).

Throughout her career in foreign policy, Ambassador Currie has specialized in human rights, political reform, development and humanitarian issues, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. From 2009 until her appointment to the USUN leadership, she served as a Senior Fellow with the Project 2049 Institute. She has held senior policy positions with the Department of State, the U.S. Congress, and several international and non-governmental human rights and humanitarian organizations.

Ambassador Currie received a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs.

Congresswoman Lois Frankel

U.S. Representative (FL)

From the student antiwar protests of the ‘60s to her election to Congress in 2012 where she represents South Florida, Congresswoman Lois Frankel has spent her lifetime delivering positive change to her community as a civic leader, state legislator, mayor, and now Member of the United States House of Representatives where she sits on House Appropriations Committee, serving on the Subcommittees for: Energy and Water Development; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies; and State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.

A trailblazer in the Florida State Legislature, Lois served as the first woman Democratic minority leader. She became a leading force to improve the economic condition of families and seniors and protect human rights and women’s reproductive freedom - fights she continues today in Congress as co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus.

Prior to her election to Congress, Lois served as Mayor of West Palm Beach, raising her city to a new vitality and earning a reputation as an innovative problem solver.

On a personal note, Lois is an avid abstract painter and is most proud of her son Ben, a United States Marine war veteran.

Ambassador H.E. Roya Rahmani

Afghan Ambassador to the United States

H.E. Roya Rahmani is the first woman ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States of America. She assumed this position on December 14, 2018. Prior to this, she served as Afghanistan’s first woman ambassador to Indonesia and the country’s first accredited ambassador to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Congressman Michael Waltz

U.S. Representative (FL)

Congressman Michael Waltz represents Florida’s 6th congressional district, which includes Flagler and Volusia counties as well as portions of Lake and St. Johns counties. Michael is a proud Florida native, combat-decorated Green Beret, former White House and Pentagon policy advisor, small business owner, and a proud father.

Michael was born in Boynton Beach, FL and grew up in Jacksonville. He was raised by a hard-working single mother and is the son and grandson of Navy Chiefs.

Michael has always felt called to serve his country. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute and has served over 20 years in the U.S. Army. After being commissioned as an Army lieutenant, Michael graduated Ranger School and was selected for the elite Green Berets. He has served all over the world as a decorated Special Forces officer with multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. During his time in Afghanistan, Michael led the teams searching for Pvt. Bowe Berghdal, who deserted his post. Upon Berghdal’s return to the U.S., Michael was one of the first to call into question then-President Obama’s labeling of Berghdal as a hero and has continued to lead call for justice on behalf of all the service-members Berghdal’s desertion put in harm's way.