Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (born 7 September 1973) is an author who has written on the role of women and girls in foreign policy. She has held private sector roles in

emerging technology Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include older technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies ar ...

for national security as well as financial services. She serves as an adjunct senior fellow at the Women and Foreign Policy Program with the Council on Foreign Relations and has written the New York Times bestsellers ''

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana ''The Dressmaker of Khair Khana'' is a book by author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, published in March 2011 by HarperCollins. It documents the story of Kamila Sidiqi, a young female entrepreneur working during the years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, a ...

'' (2011), ''Ashley’s War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield'' (2015) and ''The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice'' (2021). A graduate of the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

and the Harvard Business School, Lemmon has covered a variety of topics such as women's entrepreneurship,

women in the military Women have served in the military in many different roles in various jurisdictions throughout history. Women in many countries are no longer excluded from some types of combat missions such as piloting, mechanics, and infantry officer. Since 1 ...

, forced and child marriage, Syria and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. She has also served as a board member of the

Mercy Corps Mercy Corps is a global non-governmental, humanitarian aid organization operating in transitional contexts that have undergone, or have been undergoing, various forms of economic, environmental, social and political instabilities. The organizatio ...

and the International Center for Research on Women, and as a member of the Bretton Woods Committee. She speaks

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, French and is conversant in

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...

and basic

Kurmanji Kurmanji ( ku, کورمانجی, lit=Kurdish, translit=Kurmancî, also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northern dialect of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Sy ...

Education and early career

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, the daughter of an Iraqi father and Rhoda Miriam Spielman Tzemach (died 1987). Her mother raised her as a single parent in

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental and controversial New D ...

, her grandmother was Frances Cohen Spielman (died 1999), a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veteran of

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States ...

and an independent film distributor during the 1940s who later founded

First Run Features First Run Features is an independent film distribution company based in New York City. History First Run was founded in 1979 by a group of filmmakers in order to advance the distribution of independent film. In the 1980s, the company focused ...

. Her paternal family comes from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, partly from

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

. Her father was born in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

but was forced to leave the country as a child due to his religion. Lemmon earned a BA in journalism summa cum laude from the

School of Journalism. From 1997 to 2004, she worked in the

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

Political Unit, where she covered presidential politics and public policy issues, and served as producer in the first year of ''This Week with George Stephanopoulos''. During that time, she visited

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

as a Fulbright Scholar and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as a Robert Bosch Fellow. In 2004, Lemmon started MBA study at Harvard. During the study, she began writing about women's entrepreneurship in conflict and post-conflict zones, traveling to Rwanda and

. Lemmon graduated with an MBA two years later, and received the HBS 2006 Dean's Award for her work on the subject. She then continued working on women's entrepreneurship in the world, covering more countries such as Bosnia and Liberia. From 2006 to 2010, she worked in the executive office and in emerging markets at the global investment firm PIMCO, leading public policy analysis. During the time, she consulted for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

and co-authored a 2008 report ''Doing Business: Women in Africa''. In 2010, she was featured on the cover of the HBS alumni magazine for her work on entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict zones.

Writing and public speaking career

In 2011, Lemmon wrote the first

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born 21 November 1953), is an English journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host, and author of ''The Diana Chronicles'' (2007) a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, '' The Vanity Fair Diarie ...

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

cover article, featuring an interview with

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

on former Secretary of State's push to put women at the center of U.S. foreign policy. The same year, her book, ''

'', was published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

. The story about Kamila Sidiqi, a young Afghan entrepreneur who supports her community under the Taliban rule, was the New York Times nonfiction bestseller. In December 2011, she gave the opening talk at TEDxWomen, in which she described why investing in women can make the difference for the global economy. She is also the author of ''Entrepreneurship in Postconflict Zones'', a 2012 CFR working paper that argues for comprehensive, long-term, collaborative approaches to help entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict countries overcome challenges in accessing capital, markets, networks, and business skills training. The same year, she began writing a number of pieces on women and girls for

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

, including ''We Need to Tell Girls They Can Have It All (Even If They Can't)'', which was mentioned in

Sheryl Sandberg Sheryl Kara Sandberg (born August 28, 1969) is an American business executive, billionaire, and philanthropist. Sandberg served as chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, a position from which she stepped down in August 2022. She is al ...

's 2013 book ''Lean In: Women, Work, and The Will to Lead'', and on the lessons she learned growing up in a community of single mothers. In October 2013, Lemmon broke the first media story about how the military could not pay death benefits to fallen soldiers killed in action during the

government shutdown A government shutdown occurs when the legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government. Government shutdowns in the Un ...

. The story attracted the attention of

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

and the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, and Fisher House eventually stepped in to fill the funding gap until the shutdown ended. In December of the same year, she published a policy innovation memorandum, titled ''Banking on Growth'', making the case for why the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

should support the creation of an American development bank to invest in small and medium-businesses in the world's toughest economies. In 2014, she authored two CFR working papers on the topic: ''High Stakes for Young Lives'', coauthored with Lynn ElHarake, surveys strategies to stop child marriage; and ''Fragile States, Fragile Lives'' that examines the correlation between child marriage and state fragility. This work culminated in a CFR e-book publication ''Child Brides, Global Consequences: How to End Child Marriage''. In September the next year, Lemmon reported on the issue of child and forced marriage in the

for the

PBS NewsHour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the pro ...

in a two-part series. Her next book, ''Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield'', was published by

in 2015. It tells the story of CST-2, a unit of women handpicked from across the

U.S. army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

to serve on combat operations alongside Army Rangers and

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...

, and of the remarkable hero at its heart: First Lieutenant Ashley White. The book, Lemmon's second New York Times bestseller, is being made into a film by

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

and

Bruna Papandrea Bruna Papandrea (born 1971) is an Australian film and television producer and the founder of production company Made Up Stories. Prior to Made Up Stories, Papandrea co-founded the production company Pacific Standard with Reese Witherspoon. E ...

, with

Lesli Linka Glatter Lesli Linka Glatter (born July 26, 1953) is an American film and television director. She is best known for her work on the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' and the Showtime series ''Homeland'', for which she's received eight Primetime Emmy Award no ...

and Molly Smith Metzler attached to direct and write it respectively. Lemmon also gave a

TED Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

on Ashley's War at

TEDWomen TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

2015, receiving more than one million views. In 2021, Penguin Press published ''The Daughters of Kobani'', the latest book authored by Lemmon. It is about a group of Syrian Kurdish women fighting against

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

. According to Kirkus Reviews, it is "a well-told story of contemporary female warriors and the complex geopolitical realities behind their battles." The story, being another New York Times bestseller, has been optioned by HiddenLight Productions for TV. Throughout her career, Lemmon has written on women's entrepreneurship and

, forced and child marriage, girls’ ambition and single mothers, along with the role of women and girls in conflict for a variety of news outlets, including

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

, Foreign Policy, Ms. Magazine, among others. Lemmon has given talks at the

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

Security Forum,

TED TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

forums,

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, the

National Infantry Museum The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center is a museum located in Columbus, Georgia, just outside the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning. The 190,000-square-foot museum opened in June 2009. The museum chronicles the history of th ...

, and so on.

Works

* * * *

Op-eds and articles

* More articles here. * See all ''Defense One'' articles here.
When Their Hell Becomes Ours
CNN, January 9, 2015
Too Young to Marry
''Ms. Magazine'', February 20, 2015
Outrage After a Woman’s Burning Shows a Changing Afghanistan
CNN, March 31, 2015
19 Women Washed Out of Army Ranger School. That’s Actually a Good Thing
''Washington Post'', May 13, 2015
The Army’s All-Women Special Ops Teams Show Us How We’ll Win Tomorrow’s Wars
''Washington Post'', May 19, 2015

''Yahoo Health'', May 26, 2015

''Los Angeles Times'', June 11, 2015
America’s Next Social Battlefield Is on the Actual Battlefield
''Fortune.com'', July 15, 2015
Safe Enough to Thrive
''Ms. Magazine'', July 15, 2015
Missing in Action
''The Atlantic'', August 4, 2015
Meet the First Class of Women to Graduate From Army Ranger School
''Foreign Policy'', August 17, 2015
Army Ranger Female Graduates Won’t Be Last
CNN, August 19, 2015
The Women of the Army Rangers’ Cultural Support Teams
''New York Times'', September 14, 2015

Fox News, November 20, 2015

''Los Angeles Times'', December 4, 2015

Fox News, December 10, 2015
A Syrian Mother Finds a Lifeline to Help Her Teenage Daughter “Start Living” Again
''New York Times'', December 14, 2015

CNN, December 17, 2015

CNN, March 2, 2016
What Trump’s Proposed Ban on Muslims Really Threatens
''Task & Purpose'', May 20, 2016

CNN, May 28, 2016

FOX News, June 16, 2016
The Reality Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Ignores
CNN, June 27, 2016
What Comes Next After Raqqa and Mosul?
''Defense One'', July 6, 2016
Why Dropping ‘Man’ From Military Titles Isn’t About Political Correctness
''Fortune'', July 13, 2016
Gold Star Families Deserve Better Than One News Cycle
''Defense One'', July 31, 2016
A Syrian War By Other Means
Foreign Affairs, August 17, 2016
When Allies Become Enemies (Before the War is Over), Obama’s ISIS Plan Has Another Problem
''Defense One'', August 31, 2016
When Women Lead Soldiers Into Battle
''The Atlantic'', September 9, 2016
How I came to report on forced marriage — in the U.S.
PBS NewsHour, September 14, 2016
Aleppo: Where children die, but the world does nothing
CNN, September 29, 2016
There’s a Way Obama’s White House Can Save Syrian Lives, There’s Just No Will
''Defense One'', October 6, 2016
The US can't afford to forget its wars -- or why it fights them
CNN, October 7, 2016
Trump's tape won't sway his base, but will it change our culture?
CNN, October 10, 2016

''Chicago Tribune'', November 10, 2016
Remembering America's forgotten wars
CNN, December 6, 2016
'Responsibility to protect?' Empty words after Aleppo
CNN, December 14, 2016

References

External links

Official website: GayleLemmon.com

Defense One: Gayle Lemmon Articles
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemmon, Gayle Tzemach American non-fiction writers Jewish American writers Jewish American journalists People from Greenbelt, Maryland Harvard Business School alumni 1970s births Living people University of Missouri alumni CNN people 21st-century American Jews