Nancy McEldowney


Nancy Eileen McEldowney is an academic administrator at Georgetown University. Prior to coming to Georgetown, she was an American diplomat and a member of the U.S. Foreign Service. She served as the Director of the Foreign Service Institute and the National Foreign Affairs Training Center from February 2013 until June 2017. In this capacity, she was responsible for professional training for the U.S. Department of State and other foreign affairs agencies. On July 1, 2017, she became Director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Career

As Director of the Foreign Service Institute, McEldowney served as the Chief Learning Officer for the US Department of State. FSI provides professional training for American diplomats on subjects ranging from foreign languages to leadership skills, including core diplomatic tradecraft such as advocacy and negotiation. FSI also trains employees from over 50 other foreign affairs agencies.
Prior to her arrival at FSI, McEldowney served as the Interim President and Senior Vice President of the National Defense University from 2011-2013. She was also the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from 2009-2011.
Overseas, McEldowney served as the US Ambassador to Bulgaria, as well as the US Deputy Chief of Mission in Turkey and in Azerbaijan.
McEldowney received of the Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2013. She also received the Order of Stara Planina from the President of Bulgaria in 2009. She has been the recipient of the State Department's Senior Performance Award on nine occasions and the Superior Honor Award on five occasions. She was granted the Sinclair Linguistic Award in 2001.

Life

McEldowney was born and raised in Clearwater Beach, Florida. After graduating from Clearwater High School, McEldowney went on to earn a bachelor's degree from New College, as well as master's degrees from both Columbia University and the National Defense University. McEldowney has studied a number of languages, including French, Spanish, Russian, and Latin, and received professional training in Arabic, Azerbaijani, German, and Turkish.