Julia Nesheiwat is an American academic and former government official who served as the 10th homeland security advisor in the Trump administration from 2020 to 2021.[3] She also served in the Bush and Obama administrations.
Julia Nesheiwat | |
|---|---|
 Nesheiwat in 2019 | |
| 10th United States Homeland Security Advisor | |
| In office February 20, 2020 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Peter J. Brown |
| Succeeded by | Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carmel, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Michael Waltz[1] |
| Children | 1[2] |
| Relatives | Jaclyn Stapp (sister), and Janette Nesheiwat |
| Education | Stetson University (BA) Georgetown University (MA) Tokyo Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1997–2005 |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | Military Intelligence Corps |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan Iraq War |
| Awards | |
Early life and education
editThe daughter of Jordanian Christian immigrant parents, Nesheiwat is one of five children; she was raised in Umatilla, Florida.[4] Nesheiwat earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stetson University, a Master of Arts from Georgetown University, and a PhD from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.[5][6] She is the sister of Jaclyn Stapp and Janette Nesheiwat.
Career
editArmy service
editCommissioning in 1997, Nesheiwat served as a U.S. Army military intelligence officer, leaving the Army as a captain.[3] She served consecutive deployments for which she was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. She subsequently served at senior levels on a White House commission, in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and in numerous senior economic and national security roles in the State Department spanning the Bush, Obama, and Trump Administrations.[7]
Academics
editAfter earning her doctorate in science and engineering, Nesheiwat lectured on the geopolitics of energy, climate, and technology in the 21st century at Naval Postgraduate School’s National Security Affairs Department, Stanford University, and at the University of California, San Diego.[6]
Government service
editNesheiwat was an international affairs fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the Governing Advisory Council for the World Economic Forum.[5][6] Nesheiwat also served on the Governing Advisory Council for Clean Energy at the World Economic Forum and was appointed as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Energy Resources. She also served as the energy policy advisor in the department’s economic bureau, was the ex officio committee member for the Florida Ocean Alliance, as well as appointed as the Global Ambassador by the World Green Building Council.[8][9]
Nesheiwat was involved in efforts to keep families informed and win the release of U.S. citizens held hostage on foreign soil, through a new office partnered with Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell which combines resourced from the Defense and State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and Treasury Department. Nesheiwat served as the former U.S. Deputy Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs from August 2015 to August 2019.[10][11]
In August 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had appointed Nesheiwat as the state's first chief resilience officer.[12][13] Florida is only the third state (joining Rhode Island and Oregon)[14][15] to have "designated resilience offices with clear executives that report directly to the governor."[16] In this role, she was tasked with preparing Florida for the “environmental, physical and economic impacts” of sea level rise, confirmed by a 2014 national climate assessment.[17] Nesheiwat has supported the scientific consensus on climate change and its impact on the state of Florida.[18][19] Nesheiwat is serving as a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council also focused on energy, climate, arctic policy, and national security[20] and was appointed as US Commissioner on the US Arctic Research Commission.[21]
Homeland security advisor
editOn February 20, 2020, Politico reported that President Donald Trump would select Nesheiwat to be his new homeland security advisor, according to an administration official and another person familiar with the matter."[3] Robert C. O'Brien later confirmed Nesheiwat's appointment, praising her as a person who has "extensive national security experience, which will be invaluable for this important role."[22]
References
edit- ^ Schorsch, Peter (September 17, 2021). "Sunburn — The morning read of what's hot in Florida politics — 9.17.21". Florida Politics. Extensive-Enterprise. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ Fineout, Gary (January 11, 2022). "Ready to rumble: 5 big questions for the 2022 session". Politico. Politico LLC. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Lippman, Daniel (February 20, 2020). "Trump to tap Florida official as homeland security adviser". Politico. Meridith McGraw contributed to this report. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- ^ Stetson Magazine, Fall 2017
- ^ a b "Julia Nesheiwat". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- ^ a b c Nesheiwat, Julia. "Resume [redacted] - Julia Nesheiwat, PhD" (PDF). Ron DeSantis - 46th Governor of Florida. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "Change and Continuity in American Leadership" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- ^ "Campaign Ambassadors". World Green Building Council. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- ^ "Julia Nesheiwat". World Geothermal Congress 2020 Reykjavik. Archived from the original on 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- ^ "'Chase Your Dreams' – Stetson Today". www.stetson.edu. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
- ^ "The Trump administration is working to free American hostages in Iran". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Ron DeSantis tackling climate change with 'Chief Resilience Officer'". 7 May 2019.
- ^ "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Dr. Julia Nesheiwat as Florida's First Chief Resilience Officer". Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- ^ "Press Release: Raimondo Signs Executive Order Outlining Rhode Island's Action Plan to Stand Up to Climate Change". Rhode Island - Office of the Governor. September 15, 2017. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- ^ "State of Oregon: Policy Offices - Resilience". www.oregon.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
- ^ "American Flood Coalition welcomes Florida's new Chief Resilience Officer and applauds Governor DeSantis - American Flood Coalition". floodcoalition.org. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
- ^ "Florida squarely in cross-hairs of climate change, new report says (w/video)". www.tampabay.com. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- ^ "Florida's resilience boss says right stuff on climate change. Now let's act". www.tampabay.com. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- ^ Ogles, Jacob (2019-10-15). "Florida Senate committee addresses climate change, sustainability head-on". Florida Politics. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
- ^ "US Arctic Research Commission Commissioner Dr. Julia Nesheiwat Joins Atlantic Council Global Energy Center as a Distinguished Fellow". Atlantic Council. 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ "About | US Arctic Research Commission". Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ^ NSC (2020-02-21). ""Excited to welcome Dr. Julia Nesheiwat, who will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President working on Homeland Security and Resilience. She comes with extensive national security experience, which will be invaluable for this important role." - NSA O'Brien". @WHNSC. Retrieved 2020-02-22.