Introduction
Julia Nesheiwat is an American national security adviser currently serving as the 10th Homeland Security Advisor in the Donald Trump Administration.
After the September 11 attacks, Nesheiwat served consecutive combat tours for which she was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, as a U.S. Army military intelligence officer. 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.
Early life and education
The daughter of Jordanian Christian immigrant parents, Nesheiwat is one of five children; she was raised in Umatilla, Florida. Nesheiwat earned a B.A. from Stetson University, a M.A. from Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. She is the sister of Jaclyn Stapp and Janette Nesheiwat, MD.
Career
Academics
After earning her Doctorate, 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.
Government service
Nesheiwat was an International Affairs Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the Governing Advisory Council for the World Economic Forum. 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.
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.
In August 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had appointed Nesheiwat as the state's first Chief Resilience Officer. Florida is only the third state (joining Rhode Island and Oregon) to have "designated resilience offices with clear executives that report directly to the governor."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. Nesheiwat has supported the scientific consensus on climate change and its impact on the state of Florida.
Homeland Security Advisor
On February 20, 2020, Politico reported that President Donald Trump would select Nesheiwat to be his new homeland security adviser, according to an administration official and another person familiar with the matter." Robert 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."