Each year, the William J Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies recognizes organizations and individuals who have made notable contributions to promote mutually supportive approaches to common security issues in the Western Hemisphere. On Wednesday, September 25, 2019 the Perry Center held an award ceremony recognizing Dr. Linda Castro Gainza, Undersecretary of Logistics at the Department of Public Security of the State of Veracruz, Mexico, and the first woman to ever receive a PhD in Defense and National Security from the Center for Higher Naval Studies (CESNAV), and the Center for Higher National Studies - Postgraduate School (CAEN-EPG) of Peru as the individual and institutional recipients of the 2019 Perry Award. The 2019 awardees have consistently demonstrated their commitment to fostering transparent and capable defense and security governance institutions, and to strengthening institutional capacity in the Americas.