Meehan Bernadette

Bernadette Meehan is the spokeswoman for the National Security Council. Bernadette Meehan is a graduate of Boston College, where she studied Political Science. After graduating she worked for seven years as a financial analyst on Wall Street. Although she enjoyed her career in finance, she was always drawn to foreign affairs.

After reading a story about the life of Under Secretary of State Nick Burns, who was also a graduate of Boston College, Meehan was inspired to pursue a career in Foreign Service. She began her new career as a Consular Officer at the US embassy in Bogota, Colombia. Meehan served in Colombia for two years before volunteering to serve in Iraq, where she arrived in September, 2006. After finishing her tour in the Consular Section, Meehan worked for a few months as a special assistant to Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. In September 2007 Meehan left Iraq and began to study Arabic at the Foreign Service Institute in Virginia. 

She studied for nine months, preparing for a new tour as a Public Affairs Officer at the US Consulate General in Dubai. Her job in Dubai was three-fold: to explain US foreign policy to the local population; to promote the culture of the United States; and to enable exchange programs between the US and Dubai, such as the Fulbirght and International Visitors Leadership Programs. In 2010 Meehan returned to Washington DC. There she worked as a Line Officer. As an LO she advanced then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s overseas travel, as well as traveling with her as one of the “Plane Team” assistants. Meehan worked as an LO for ten months when she was invited to become one of Clinton’s two Special Assistants. In 2015 Meehan is the spokeswoman for the National Security Council.