Bernadette Meehan is the U.S. ambassador to Santiago, Chile. Prior to her posting there, she was the executive vice president of Global Programs at the Obama Foundation where she oversaw the development of domestic and international leadership programs for emerging leaders, as well as work to empower adolescent girls around the world through education. Previously a career Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. State Department for 13 years, Ambassador Meehan served in a variety of assignments in Washington and overseas.

During her diplomatic career, Meehan served on the National Security Council at the White House, including as special assistant to the President for National Security affairs and spokesperson for the White House National Security Council. Her other Washington assignments include special assistant to the Secretary of State, special assistant in the State Department Executive Secretariat, and dean and Virginia Rusk resident fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Her overseas assignments included being a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service in March 2004, she was a vice president at J.P. Morgan and a vice president at Lehman Brothers. A native of New York, she graduated from Boston College with a degree in political science. She speaks Spanish and some Arabic.