News Release

February 24, 2025 - Girl Security, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advancing girls and women in national security, is thrilled to announce the welcoming of two new members to its Board of Directors.

Sarah Stewart is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Silverado Policy Accelerator. Ms. Stewart has nearly two decades of experience as an international trade lawyer, trade policy expert, and trade negotiator. Immediately prior to joining Silverado, Ms. Stewart led the public policy efforts at Amazon on U.S. trade policy and export controls matters. 

“Educating and empowering girls and young women at an early age to pursue careers in national security is a win-win,” said Ms. Stewart. “Girl Security's mission to help build a national security workforce of the future that includes underrepresented segments of the population will make our country that much stronger, especially as we face new adversaries and challenges. I am honored to help this transformational organization grow and impact lives, careers, and our nation's security.”

Elisa Bannon-Jones is a global CHRO and HR business leader, who brings insights from over two decades of success guiding strategy in international human resources, retail field operations, and enterprise sales for multibillion-dollar and multinational corporations, including Rue21, GNC, Frontier Communications, Brightstar Corp., and Icahn Automotive Group. 

"I am honored to join the Board of Directors at Girl Security, an organization dedicated to preparing the next generation for the critical challenges in national security," Elisa said. "The organization’s mission aligns deeply with my commitment to creating a sense of mentorship and leadership development.”

Marilyn Diamond, Board Chair, emphasized: “We are pleased to add Sarah and Elisa to the Girl Security Team. Their diverse experience in national security and business-related sectors and a passion for the mission and work of Girl Security will add tremendous value to the organization.”

About Girl Security: Girl Security advances girls, women, and gender minority youth from disinvested communities into national security careers through skills training, experiential learning, mentorship, and strategic network building. Through a place-based approach, we gain vital insights that reshape how the entire security sector develops talent. The knowledge we gain from empowering youth creates a blueprint for building a more innovative, inclusive security workforce – one capable of designing solutions for the nation’s most critical challenges.