Bernadette Meehan

Bernadette Meehan is a global executive and former U.S. ambassador with deep experience leading complex organizations, navigating global policy challenges, building cross-sector partnerships, and driving innovation. She brings over two decades of leadership in geopolitics, technology, philanthropy, and global markets. 

As U.S. Ambassador to Chile from 2022–2025, Bernadette advanced digital infrastructure and technology partnerships critical to global competitiveness. She played a pivotal role enabling Google’s investment in the Humboldt Cable, the first subsea cable linking South America with Asia, a project poised to transform digital connectivity. She secured ratification of a long-pending Bilateral Tax Treaty and negotiated agreements to expand access for U.S. agricultural exports. Her advocacy for international scientific cooperation, particularly in astronomy and Antarctic research, strengthened U.S. leadership in frontier science.

Previously, Bernadette served as Executive Vice President of Global Programs and a member of the Executive Committee of the Obama Foundation. She designed leadership development programs across Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe, establishing the foundation’s international presence and cultivating a worldwide network of emerging innovators, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders.

Bernadette’s commitment to public service was shaped over more than a decade as a career Foreign Service Officer, serving in both Republican and Democratic administrations. At the White House National Security Council (NSC) she held several senior roles, including Special Assistant to the President & NSC Spokesperson. Additional diplomatic assignments included Special Assistant to the Secretary of State; postings in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Colombia; and resident fellow and adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. In 2007 the Department of State recognized her as one of its most promising future leaders, and she is the recipient of numerous performance awards.

Bernadette began her career in the private sector as a Vice President at J.P. Morgan Chase and Lehman Brothers, building a foundation in global markets, financial strategy, and technology.

Her civic leadership includes prior service on the Board of Advisors at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and the Advisory Council of Hostage US. Bernadette holds a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College and speaks Spanish and Arabic. She is married and the mother of a young daughter.