STEPHANIE L. PICO

• Manage and execute strategic communication campaigns for domestic (White House, government agencies, Congress, NGOs) and international audiences (UN, global NGOs)
• Coordinate content, including press releases, blog posts, and social media, ensuring cultural sensitivity and consistent messaging
• Advise senior officials for on-camera appearances and print interviews to ensure message consistency
• Oversee the drafting, editing, and finalization of the U.S Government's annual 'To Walk The Earth in Safety' report and manage the communications strategy for its public release by senior officials
• Develop policy recommendations to advance and protect U.S Political and military interests globally by engaging governments, organizations, and civil society

• Led U.S policy on small arms and light weapons, with a focus on MANPADS, advising senior officials on UN and international initiatives impacting U.S policy.
• Negotiated and implemented the U.S.-Russia MANPADS Agreement, overseeing biannual meetings and continuous information exchanges in both capitals
• Advised the Presidential Special Envoy for MANPADS, managing high-level consultations with heads of state and foreign ministers across 11+ countries to identify and mitigate MANPADS proliferation risks
• Served as the U.S Point of Contact for the UN Program of Action on small arms, represented the U.S as expert on illicit brokering and the negotiations for international weapons marking and tracing agreements at the UN
• Managed budget and grants for multi-country weapons destruction programs in the Horn of Africa, navigating complex and sensitive diplomatic challenges
• Prepared position papers, speeches, Op-eds, policy briefings, and presentations for senior U.S Officials, including the White House

Coalition Provisional Authority, Iraq: Served as the Deputy Chief of Staff and lead coordinator for reconstruction priorities with Iraqi officials

Department of Defense, Office of the Comptroller: Shaped U.S. Policy for Iraq Donors Conference and UN/WB Needs Assessment. Fundraising of reconstruction funds and support with UN and EU

U.S. Department of State, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement: Shaped and implemented SALW policy and represented the U.S at an African small arms meeting

U.S. Department of Commerce, Nonproliferation and Export Control Cooperation Program, BIS: Coordinated an eleven-country program to educate on and strengthen dual-use export controls in industries throughout Romania, Russia and Kazakhstan

• Coordinated various aspects of the 2001 conference to create the UN Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons by drafting suggested and accepted text, negotiating consensus on proposed text, consolidating positions into the final document

• Assisted the Conventional Arms Branch, Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch and Special Envoy on Child Soldiers with drafting policy papers, speeches and authored a chapter in the UN Disarmament Yearbook on Nuclear Tactical Weapons and the NPT