Since joining the NATO International Staff in 2009, Amanda has served as NATO liaison officer in Baghdad, political adviser in Kabul, head of office in Kuwait, political officer and later press officer in Brussels, as well as education and training program manager in partner countries. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, she completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill and the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) in Paris. Prior to joining NATO, she served as an aide on Capitol Hill and worked in the civil service at the U.S. Department of State. For her work in the defense and security sector she has earned the NATO Meritorious Service Medal, the NATO Non-Article 5 Medal, and other national awards. After completing her tour in Kuwait, where she set up the Alliance’s first diplomatic presence in the Arabian Gulf region, she returned in 2020 to Brussels and assumed her current role as senior advisor in the realm of intelligence and security in NATO HQ.