ISD applauds the appointment of Non-resident Fellow Ambassador Nancy McEldowney to serve as National Security Advisor to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
A valued colleague, Ambassador McEldowney’s appointment reflects her expertise and experience in the conduct of diplomacy over her distinguished career of over 30 years in the Foreign Service. She has demonstrated a decades-long commitment to global public service and strengthening the United States government’s ability to engage with allies and adversaries abroad.
Ambassador McEldowney has deep experience working on policy issues, especially on European affairs, and served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and as Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Turkey and Azerbaijan. She was also the Director of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), where she was responsible for all U.S. foreign affairs training.
ISD Director Ambassador Barbara Bodine noted:
“Ambassador McEldowney is a superb choice as National Security Advisor to the Vice President. Her broad diplomatic expertise and commitment to global public service make her ideally suited to provide Vice President-elect Harris objective, innovative, and coherent advice on our engagement and relations abroad.”
Ambassador McEldowney joined the Georgetown community in 2017 as Director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program and Distinguished Professor in the School of Foreign Service. In this role, she dedicated herself to the encouragement and education of the next generation of global policy leaders to take on the challenges of the 21st century. She held this position until June 2020, when she joined ISD as a Non-resident Fellow.