Access to information is crucial for the conduct of international diplomacy and cooperation. The U.S. State Department maintains its own intelligence shop for this purpose. As U.S. diplomacy has changed in response to the nature of global challenges, the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research has had to evolve as well. In honor of International Women's Day, Ellen E. McCarthy MPP '88, will discuss how the bureau has adapted to recent global challenges and about her experiences as a woman in the field of international security.
Featuring a talk and discussion with:
Ellen E. McCarthy MPP’88, President of the Truth in Media Cooperative and CEO of Noodle Labs
The Honorable Ellen E. McCarthy is the Chairwoman and CEO of the Truth in Media Cooperative and Noodle Labs. She also is board advisor for SAP NS2, Fortem Technologies, Exiger and Babel Street providing first hand insights on cyber security, effective leadership, driving innovation, advancing diversity and digital transformation.
McCarthy has over three decades of national security service in a variety of leadership roles spanning numerous intelligence organizations and disciplines most recently as the lead of one the Intelligence Communities 18 agencies. As the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research she reported to the Secretary of State and led a team that provided intelligence support for foreign policy purposes.
Other government leadership positions included Chief Operating Officer of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Director of the Human Capital Management Office and the Acting Director of Security in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (OUSD(I)), and Director of Intelligence Operations, Strategy, and Policy for the United States Coast Guard (USCG). McCarthy started her government career as an all source intelligence analyst at the Office of Naval Intelligence and the U.S. Atlantic Command.
Her government service was reinforced by experience gained in the private sector. As President of Noblis NSP, she led a team that provided cybersecurity and data analytic tools and services to clients in the IC. Before that she served as the President of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), the IC’s premier non-profit, nonpartisan forum for collaboration on critical national security issues.
Throughout her career, McCarthy has been a passionate promoter of women in national security. In 2016, she conceived and co-founded the Amazing Women of the Intelligence Community (AWIC) a grassroots organization that is dedicated to the professional development of women serving the U.S. nation security mission.
McCarthy is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland. She is married to Gordon Hannah, Jr. and has a son and daughter.
Celebrating 40 Years
This event is part of a year-long series celebrating the School of Public Policy's 40th anniversary. During this year the School reflects on a fundamental question — what role should programs of public policy play in our world? The policymaker and analyst of the past needs to be the policy entrepreneur of the future, adept at navigating an ever-changing governance landscape. As we look forward to our next 40 years of serving the public good, we commit to advancing education and research.