[Virtual] "Leading Inside Government & the Interagency Table"

Leadership Seminar Series presented by the BPIA U.S. Foreign Affairs Leadership Project

In collaboration with the Partnership for Public Service and the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS)

Thursday, March 18, 2027 | 6:30–7:30 PM ET | Virtual

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9794618227

Details, session PPT, zoom background here: https://iabpia.org/Leadership-Project

About the Session

Getting appointed gives a leader authority. Leading effectively requires something more: credibility, trust, institutional fluency, and the ability to work across organizational boundaries. This session examines what it takes to lead career and political teams, establish priorities during the first 100 days, and represent an agency effectively at the interagency table.

What We’ll Discuss

• What new political appointees often misunderstand about leadership
• Building credibility with career professionals
• Managing mixed career and political teams
• Setting priorities during the first 100 days
• Navigating bureaucratic resistance and institutional constraints
• Becoming an effective participant in the interagency process

Speakers

Carole House

CEO, Penumbra Strategies | Former Special Advisor for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure, National Security Council

Carole House has served across the White House, regulatory agencies, Congress, and the military, with experience in interagency coordination, emerging technology, economic security, crisis management, and executive decision-making.

Shelby L. Pierson

Founder & CEO, Invicta Analytics LLC | Former Director of Analysis, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Shelby Pierson is a former senior U.S. intelligence executive whose career spans the CIA, NGA, and ODNI. As Director of Analysis at NGA, she led thousands of personnel and a large enterprise budget. She also served as the Intelligence Community’s Election Threats Executive and National Intelligence Manager for Russia.

Tracy Pakulniewicz

Consultant, TP Consulting | Former Senior Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower & Reserve Affairs

Tracy Pakulniewicz is a senior national-security and homeland-security executive with more than 20 years of experience advising government leaders and advancing complex policy initiatives. Her roles have included Senior Advisor at the Department of Defense and Chief of Staff in DHS’s Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans.

Kristen Edwards Marquardt

Managing Partner, Fortis Vista | Former Intelligence Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security

Kristen Edwards Marquardt brings experience from the intelligence community, Congress, and DHS, providing a cross-institutional perspective on executive leadership, oversight, interagency dynamics, and national-security decision-making.

Reta Jo Lewis

Of Counsel, Husch Blackwell | Former Chair, President & CEO, Export-Import Bank of the United States

Reta Jo Lewis has led at the highest levels of an independent federal agency and held senior positions at the Department of State and White House. Her experience spans organizational leadership, diplomacy, economic policy, political affairs, and managing across institutional boundaries.