Victoria Holt is a Senior Associate at the Henry L. Stimson Center, bringing policy and political expertise from her professional experience within the State Department, Congress, and the NGO field.  Working with the Future of Peace Operations program, Holt evaluates and helps to advance both U.S. policy and international capacity for peace operations. The program explores both peacekeeping and peacebuilding that help war-torn societies sustain peace and build the rule of law. She previously served as Senior Policy Advisor at the State Department (Legislative Affairs), focusing on peacekeeping and UN issues. As Executive Director of the Emergency Coalition for U.S. Financial Support of the United Nations, she directed a bipartisan coalition of leading statesmen and non-governmental organizations. With seven years experience on Capitol Hill, Holt has an intricate understanding of the workings of defense and foreign policy issues in government and the public policy arena. She has also worked for other Washington-based policy institutes on international affairs. Holt is a board member of Women in International Security (WIIS). A graduate of the Naval War College, Holt also holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University.