WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nancy M. Pfotenhauer, President and CEO of the Independent Women’s Forum announced today that Deborah Perry, bestselling author, lecturer and political commentator has been named an IWF Senior Fellow. Perry is a frequent guest on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel and National Public Radio. A nationally known public speaker, she often addresses corporate, campus, and political groups. At IWF Perry will provide commentary, writing, and research on diverse domestic and foreign policy issues impacting women.


“Deborah’s depth of experience in the arenas of government relations at the both federal and state levels, politics, education and foreign policy make her an important addition to IWF. We are very pleased that she is joining us,” elaborates Pfotenhauer. Perry served as a congressional staffer for then-U.S. Sen. Connie Mack, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and as a political appointee for Pres. George Bush (41st), and specialized her legislative and executive career in foreign policy.


Perry with Dr. Julianne Malveaux co-authored Unfinished Business: A Democrat and a Republican Take on the 10 Most Important Issues Women Face (Perigee, September 2002). Their collective work has been featured on the Today Show, in Ladies’ Home Journal, and in newspapers including the Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, The Washington Times, Greensboro News & Record, and the Sacramento Bee. Additionally Perry and Dr. Malveaux co-produced and co-hosted A Room Full of Women, a television show during the 2000 presidential campaign season featuring prominent female journalists, newsmakers, and politicians discussing such issues as women in the workplace, women and policy, women and elections.


Perry’s op-ed pieces on foreign policy, education, and other contemporary issues have been published in the Miami Herald, The Washington Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Her work has also appeared in Ladies’ Home Journal and National Geographic Traveler. Perry holds a master’s degree in international economics from Georgetown University, and a communications degree from Florida State University. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C area.


The Independent Women’s Forum, founded in 1992, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization.