Education
University of Pennsylvania
B.A., International Relations, Spanish
Harvard
M.A., Public Policy
Podcasts
55:05971: What It’s Like to Work on Policy and Operation in the Pentagon With Michelle Lenihan, OSD [Main T4C Episode]
Michelle Lenihan is a senior advisor on policy management and Operations to the Chief of Operations within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Michelle has worked at the Pentagon, in a variety of different positions, since 2005. Among the roles she’s held: principal director in the Office of..
Career Path
Interview Highlights
“I constantly have lists every day, I’ll create a new list just to make sure that I’m tracking with my priorities and then keeping focused on what needs to get done in the short, medium and long-term.”
Best Career Advice
“[In my career] I think having intellectual curiosity is always helpful because there’s just a natural appetite to learn and really dig in and, and understand the issues in a quick amount of time, which is required depending on the role.”
Career Challenge
“ I would say my career has been a series of ups and downs … I would say perseverance is the key is just to keep going and keep pursuing what you think is the right path for you … but there are definitely times where it seemed as if it was doomed to fail and it wasn’t going to happen. It’s really important to have a good support system and network too … you can draw on your own tools and resilience and so forth, but have other people who can encourage you … when you you’re down a bit.”
Skills
Foreign Policy, Communication, National Security
Professional Interests
Foreign Relations, Advising, Travel
Related Professionals
Alan Rosenblatt
Partner, Lead Digital & Social Media Strategy Practice
turner4D
Industry: Communications & PR
Andrew Imbrie
Senior Fellow and Adjunct Faculty
Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology
