Michelle Bekkering currently serves as the Director for the Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) where she oversees IRI initiative to empower women for greater participation in their country’s political and civic life.  To date, the WDN is active in 50 countries worldwide with 15 established country chapters in Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Georgia, Guatemala, Jordan, Kenya, Moldova, Morocco, Peru, Russia, Uganda and Ukraine.  WDN works directly with its global membership to determine barriers which limit women’s political participation and ascension to leadership positions and implements programming to overcome those challenges.

Due to her advocacy efforts for women’s empowerment, Bekkering was invited to serve as a member of the Working Group for Gender Equality of the Community of Democracies, an international coalition of more than 100 democratic countries dedicated to democratic advancement.  She also serves as a Member of the Board of Young Women Leaders which oversees the WeLEAD program of American University’s Women and Politics Institute.  WeLEAD is the only training and leadership program in the United States solely dedicated to increasing the number of women working in politics and running for office.  Bekkering is also a member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL), a bipartisan organization dedicated to fostering relations among young political leaders and policy makers worldwide.  An alumni, Bekkering participated in ACYPL’s bilateral delegation to India and Pakistan in 2011.

Bekkering joined IRI in 2005.  As Deputy Director for Eurasia, she oversaw programming to support the democratic development of the former Soviet Republics.  She also oversaw the Baltic-Eurasia Inter-Parliamentary Training Institute; a regional parliamentary governance program located in Vilnius, Lithuania, that utilizes the experiences of parliamentarians in the Baltic countries to assist those in the emerging Eurasian democracies.  During her time at IRI, Bekkering has participated in election observation missions around the world, including the 2009 presidential election in Afghanistan and the historic 2011 elections in post-revolution Tunisia.

Before joining IRI, Bekkering served in numerous positions within the U.S. government.  She worked in the administration of President George W. Bush, serving in the European and Eurasian Affairs Directorate of the National Security Council led by Dr. Condoleezza Rice.  Prior to her time in the executive branch, she worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46), participating in several congressional staff delegations to Asia and the Middle East.

A native of Iowa, Bekkering graduated from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa.  As part of her education, she studied abroad at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 

Michelle’s Speeches, Testimony and Writings:

WDN’s Mentoring and Networking Initiatives (PDF)

Building Coalitions and Social Support Networks and Empowering Women through Information and Communication Technology (PDF)

International Cooperation and the Role of Women’s Political Organizations (PDF)

The Role of Women in Democratic Reform (PDF)

Developing the Capacity of Women Legislators to Effectively Contribute to Governance in Southern Sudan (PDF)

Expectations Before the Conference, Community of Democracies Blog