Dr Elise Stephenson is the Deputy Director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership, Australian National University, founded and chaired by former prime minister Julia Gillard.

She is a multi-award-winning gender equality researcher with an entrepreneurial background. Elise's research focuses on gender, sexuality and leadership in policy frontiers, from researching the space sector, to diplomacy, national security, intelligence, climate action, international relations, and the Asia Pacific. She is an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellow 2025-2028 for her research on: Gender Equality at the Frontiers: AI, Space and Climate Action.

She is the researcher and author behind the largest ever study of gender equality in the space sector, the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)’s Landmark Study on Gender Equality in the Global Space Sector 2024. She was one of the co-convenors behind Australia’s first ever conference on gender equality and diversity in the space sector, Diversity at the Frontier: Gender Equality in Space in April 2023. She is a founding member of the Australian Space Diversity Alliance (ASDA).

Elise’s first book, The Face of the Nation: Gendered Institutions in International Affairs is published by Oxford University Press and awarded the International Studies Association’s Bertha Lutz Prize – for best public writing on women in diplomacy. Elise is recognized by Google as one of Australia's Top 50 Outstanding LGBTIQ+ Leaders, the United Nations Australia Association as a  Community Awardee, and myriad other external and academic awards, including being recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for Excellence in PhD Research, the University Medal for Excellence in Honours/Masters Research, and the Politics, Asian Studies and International Relations Medal for Excellence in her Undergraduate Studies. She is a 2022-23 Fulbright Scholar and Overall Outstanding Young Alumnus for 2020.

Elise has international experience across Sweden to the United States, Hong Kong, China, Japan and ASEAN. Elise has published internationally, lead multi-scaled research and engagement projects in public diplomacy and national security, and has a deep embedded understanding of the Australian context for leadership, governance, and international affairs. 

In collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she was the curator of the Young Entrepreneurs & Leaders Speaker Series throughout the Asia Pacific, and co-director of the Australia-ASEAN Council's flagship program, the Australia-ASEAN Emerging Leaders Program (A2ELP). She was awarded the Foundation for Young Australian's Spotlight Award for policy change and is currently working on projects around women's leadership in Vietnam and Japan, as well as inclusion practices security vetting in Australian national security and intelligence. 

Prior to joining the ANU, Elise was a researcher in the Policy Innovation Hub and $5 million Climate Action Beacon at Griffith University, working around climate justice and climate adaptation, particularly focusing on women, youth, rural communities and the Asia Pacific. She is the board director of Social Good Outpost Pty Ltd.

GAICD, PhD, BAsIntSt, BComn, BGovIntRelHons (I)

• Women in leadership, gender equality & sexuality
• Diplomacy and public diplomacy
• National security and intelligence
• Space sector diversity, equality and leadership
• Asia Pacific engagement
• Gender equality in policy frontiers - artificial intelligence and climate action