Nancy McEldowney served as National Security Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris 2021 and 2022. Prior to that she was the Director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program (MSFS) at Georgetown University, the Director of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) and Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria.

As National Security Advisor to the Vice President, Ambassador McEldowney oversaw all foreign and security policy engagements by the Vice President, to include international travel and interagency policy development. As Director of FSI, Ambassador McEldowney led the foreign affairs training facility for the U.S. government. She was responsible for FSI’s 1,400 staff, worldwide field operations, and $130M operating budget. Ambassador McEldowney also served as Interim President and Senior Vice President of the National Defense University, the U.S. Department of Defense’s national security university.

Throughout her career, Ambassador McEldowney has been a leading policy advisor on Europe. She served President Clinton as Director of European Affairs on the White House National Security Council Staff. She also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where she led the U.S. government engagement with NATO, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Ambassador McEldowney’s distinguished career as a foreign service officer included positions as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria and as Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Turkey and Azerbaijan.

She has been granted the State Department’s Superior Honor Award on five occasions. She is also the recipient of the Sinclair Linguistic Award and of the Chairman of the Joint Chief’s Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award.